Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, defending grant of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, on Friday said that it would help flourish trade between the two countries.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament House, she said that Pakistan has decided, in principle, to grant MFN status to India, so that the obstacles in trade between the two countries could be removed.

The Foreign Minister had informed the Lower House on Wednesday that Pakistan has in principle, decided to grant MFN status to India. The move invited criticism from some Kashmiri groups struggling for liberation in occupied Kashmir.

PML-N, the major opposition party in National Assembly, also demanded that the matter should be brought to the parliament for discussion.Hina, however, defended the decision, saying that by granting India MFN status, trade activities between the two countries would flourish, adding that there was no harm in giving the MFN status to India.

She stated that after resumption of dialogue with New Delhi, a number of achievements in the relations between the two countries had been made, adding that the dialogue process with India had been initiated after a gap of two years. "We have achieved ground on trade with India for the first time in history," she claimed.

She said that Indian side was informed about the MFN status in the recently held Secretary level dialogue.

Referring to the Kashmir issue, the foreign minister said that top most priority of the country was to ensure uninterrupted dialogue with India, so that the resolution of Kashmir dispute could be ensured.She said that Pakistan, being an important stakeholder in the region, would continue to play its due role in restoration of peace in the region. She, however, added that peace could not be achieved without stable and secure Afghanistan.

She also lauded the Turkish government initiative for hosting Istanbul conference on November 2 for restoration of peace in Afghanistan and the region.