By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi ” Pakistan is expected to come under fresh pressure for granting transit facility to Indian goods for Afghanistan at a meeting of SAARC Commerce Secretaries here today.
The meeting is being attended by Commerce Secretaries of all the eight member countries, including Pakistan’s Suleman Ghani, whose presence here marks the first high-level official visit from Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks.
Besides discussing connectivity among the eight member countries, the meeting is also expected to deliberate on the recommendations of an expert committee for extending South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) to services sector from goods sector.
The Commerce Secretaries are expected to give their opinion on the recommendations of the expert committee which would then be considered further at the SAARC Foreign Ministers in Colombo on February 26.
At the meeting, India and Afghanistan are expected to mount pressure on Pakistan to grant transit facility which it has denied so far.
Pakistan has been maintaining that it would not give land transit but was ready to allow Karachi port for such activities.