India Imposes 200% Import Duty On Pak Goods

New Delhi: In wake of the Pulwama terror attack, India has hiked customs duty to 200 percent on all goods imported from Pakistan following withdrawal of the ‘most-favoured nation’ status accorded to Pakistan.

1. “India has withdrawn MFN status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Upon withdrawal, basic customs duty on all goods exported from Pakistan to India has been raised to 200 per cent with immediate effect,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said in a tweet.

India has withdrawn MFN status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Upon withdrawal, basic customs duty on all goods exported from Pakistan to India has been raised to 200% with immediate effect. #Pulwama

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 16, 2019

2. The two main items imported from Pakistan are fruits and cement, on which the current customs duty is 30-50 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively. Slapping an import duty of 200 per cent effectively means almost banning the imports from Pakistan, officials said.

3. Pakistan also exports petroleum products, bulk minerals and ores, finished leather, processed minerals, inorganic chemicals, cotton raw, spices, wool, rubber product, alcoholic beverages, medical instruments, marine goods, plastic, dyes and sports goods.

4. At least 40 jawans were killed in a deadly attack on a convoy of CRPF jawans in Pulwama’s Awantipora area on Thursday, 14 February. The attack was claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

5. Meanwhile, Home Ministry has issued an advisory to all states and Union Territories to ensure security of Kashmiri students and residents across the nation.

6. On the other hand, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said nobody can browbeat the country for the brutal Pulwama terror attack even as he offered to fully cooperate in any probe into the incident if India shares any evidence with it, as reported by PTI.

7. Qureshi, in a recorded a video message from Germany where he is attending the Munich Security Conference, claimed that India, without investigation, in a knee-jerk reaction, blamed Pakistan for the attack.

8. “It is easy to blame Pakistan but it will not solve the problem and the world will not be convinced,” he said in the message which was released by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on its official Twitter account.

9. A dossier, nailing the culpability of Pakistan in the terror attack in Pulwama, will be given to the FATF, an international terror financing watchdog, to expose the neighbouring country’s links with terrorism and seeking its blacklisting, officials said on Saturday, 16 February.

10. Security agencies are preparing the dossier with the evidence gathered so far related to the attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad and the help being provided to the outfit by the country, they said.