Traders in the country have decided to completely halt any trade with Pakistan in the wake of the terror attack in Kashmir‘s Pahalgam on April 22, said the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The decision was taken by trade leaders in a meeting organised by CAIT in Bhubaneswar. Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General at CAIT, said 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.”
After the Pulwama terrorist attack in 2019, trade relations between India and Pakistan were deteriorated severely, 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, according to CAIT.
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, Khandelwal said.
CAIT said 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.
As India continues to take retaliatory measures against Pakistan, it reportedly banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels including some news channels such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News, Geo News, Bol News other than Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, GNN, Irshad Bhatti, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema, Asmar Shirazi, Muneeb Faqoor, Suno News HD, Razi Naama, and Samaa Sports with a total subscriber base of around 63 million.
This follows the steps taken by India last week which included suspending the Indus Water Treaty, closing Attari check post, disallowing Pakistani nationals to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption scheme, declaring military, naval and air advisors in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata, reducing the overall strength of the High Commissions to 30 from 55, and suspending Visa services to Pakistani nationals.