Islamabad, Aug 18: The crucial fifth round of talks to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area Treaty (SAFTA) would take place in October in Kathmandu and there are indications that Pakistan may agree to grant the Most Favoured Nation status to India in order to clinch the treaty. Pakistan officials said the Safta talks, which were scheduled to be held in September, have been rescheduled to October 14-17. The October talks may not be the last before the signing of a Safta Treaty, Pakistan foreign officials said adding there might be another round in November, newspaper 'Daily Times' reported.
Asked whether it would mean Pakistan giving India MFN status, they said "it would mean MFN plus many other things for India."
"Eventually, the treaty will incorporate binding timeframes for freeing trade, measures to facilitate trade," they said.
The Daily pointed out that Pakistan's top diplomats supported trade with India at a foreign envoys conference in Islamabad. "We will set modalities for trade with India when Safta talks are held," Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar said at the foreign secretaries conference in Kathmandu recently. India has made it clear that successful Safta process are essential for the progress of the Saarc movement and virtually linked finalisation of Safta to the holding of Saarc summit in Islamabad.

The foreign secretaries meeting has finalised the schedule for Saarc summit to be held in Islamabad early next year and the Safta was expected to be ready before that. Bureau Report