Indian merchants snap trade ties with Pakistan, condemn Pahalgam terror attack
New Delhi: Indian traders have decided to end all trade relations with Pakistan in protest against the Islamabad-sponsored terrorist attack at Kashmir's Pahalgam, said Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday.
The decision was taken by trade leaders from 26 states at CAIT's National Governing Council meeting in Bhubaneswar.
CAIT Secretary General and Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal said that a unanimous resolution was passed in the meeting condemning the terrorist incident in Pahalgam in the strongest terms and calling for 'a complete boycott of all trade relations with Pakistan.'
The resolution stated that, in protest against the brutal killing of innocent tourists in Pahalgam, the business community has decided 'to immediately cease all forms of imports and exports with Pakistan.'
Traders expressed full support for the strong actions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against terrorism and urged that the perpetrators and their supporters be given the strictest possible punishment.
After the Pulwama terrorist attack in 2019, trade relations between India and Pakistan severely deteriorated, leading to a significant drop in bilateral trade. From a peak of nearly $3 billion in 2018, the trade volume fell to about $1.2 billion in 2024.
Between April 2024 and January 2025, India exported about $500 million worth of goods to Pakistan, mainly pharmaceuticals, chemicals, sugar, and auto parts, while imports stood at merely $0.42 million. Now, traders have resolved to completely end this trade as well, according to a CAIT statement.
'Trade leaders emphasised that while halting trade with Pakistan may temporarily impact some exporters, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, continuing trade with or through a hostile country is completely unacceptable,' the statement said.
They asserted that the trading community of India is prepared to bear any economic loss or cost necessary to uphold the unity, integrity, and security of the nation.
In another resolution passed during the meeting, CAIT accused E-Commerce and Quick Commerce companies of continuously violating rules and laws, selling counterfeit products, and conspiring to destroy the businesses of small traders.
CAIT demanded that the government immediately implement the E-Commerce policy and the rules framed under the Consumer Protection Act and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy.
The resolution also called for imposing a 28 per cent GST on Quick Commerce and E-Commerce deliveries, stating that such convenience should be treated as a luxury and taxed accordingly.
The trade leaders urged a complete review and simplification of the GST structure. Traders demanded a comprehensive review of GST to expand the tax base and to revisit and rationalise the different tax slabs, making the system simpler and more business-friendly, the statement added.
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