“There have so far been two cabinet meetings and resuming trade with India was not discussed,” he said at Rubaroo hosted by Shaukat Piracha aired on Aaj News on Friday.

The question was asked against the backdrop of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s statement in London regarding examining the business community’s proposal to trade with India.

At the show, Sheikh gave his personal opinion of resuming the trade with India for the sake of the people. He substantiated his statement by saying that countries like the US, China, India, and Taiwan have trade relations despite tensions.

Former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, who also joined the show via video link, was of the view that Dar’s statement was more of an opinion, not a policy statement.

When asked, Sheikh replied that regional trade was important to build ties and have a competitive market. He gave an example of South Asian countries that conduct 65% of trade.

The minister added that it was necessary to respond to people’s needs amid rising inflation.

In response to a query, Chaudhry lamented that Pakistan has viewed its ties with most of its neighbours with a security angle that did not allow the country to see the economic opportunities available in those countries.

PTI’s Qaiser denies rifts

PTI leader Asad Qaiser joined the show in its last segment. He denied rifts within the party after a meeting.

According to the former National Assembly speaker, leaders have disagreements and agreements on different things but that does not mean that the party was broken as reported in some sections of the media.