Pakistan and India hoped that their ongoing secretary-level trade talks will take the dialogue process forward and help address all issues relating to facilitation and promotion of bilateral economic cooperation with consensus. The first day’s meeting of the two-day session between Pakistan Commerce and Trade Secretary Zafar Mahmood and his Indian counterpart Rahul Khullar in Islamabad told that the two teams have completed the review of the trade cooperation from the point where it was derailed after 2007. The decision on all issues relating to facilitation and promotion of bilateral trade would be made with consensus at the conclusion of the talks on Thursday (today) while the progress achieved on a number of issues during the first four round of talks would be the priority areas. Reportedly both the countries are expected to agree to open bank branches of at least two private banks to facilitate the bilateral trade, eliminate non-tariff barriers to make the mutual trade beneficial, revise the goods train agreement for facilitating quick and economical trade transactions, increase business visas, open more trade routes and to promote intra-Kashmir trade through the Line of Control (LoC) as per the desire of Kashmiris. Full story