Press Statement:

LAHORE: South Asian Free Media Association Secretary General Mr. Imtiaz Alam has welcomed the new momentum generated after the SAARC Summit and the progress achieved in the Indo-Pak talks on trade.

Imtiaz Alam -
Secretary General, SAFMA

Welcoming the new agreements signed by the member countries of SAARC to promote trade and connectivity, the SAFMA Secretary General called upon the member states to remove restrictions on the movement of people across the borders and undertake measures to promote connectivity across the borders. He urged the SAARC member states to drastically cut down the sensitive or negative list of non-tradable items to make South Asian Free Trade Area agreement (SAFTA) work for the benefit of the people.

Appreciating Pakistan's decision to grant MFN status under the WTO to India, Mr Alam said this won't help promote trade unless both sides eased out various barriers to mutually beneficial trade.

On the outcome of bilateral meeting between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Mr. Alam called upon the two governments for following up on the understanding reached between the two sides at Addu, Maldives. He underlined the need for a deeper collaboration between the security agencies of the two countries to thwart the nefarious designs of those who wanted to keep the countries a hostage of their past. He advised the two governments to pick up the thread of dialogue process from where it had broken down.

The SAFMA Secretary General expressed his serious concern regarding the visa regime that prohibits people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. He said SAFMA would soon be initiating new efforts to achieve its agenda regarding free flow of information and goods and free movement of journalists and people across borders.