Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has said that the country will “seriously examine” whether to restart trade with India.

Responding to questions during a press meet in London, Dar on Saturday said he had been approached last year by Pakistani businesspersons over the issue, and said any decision would follow a full discussion with all stakeholders.

He highlighted the eagerness of cash-strapped Pakistan’s business community to resume trade activities with India. Pakistani businessmen want trade with India to resume, the foreign minister said. Pakistan will consider restoring trade ties with India, he said. We will seriously look into matters of trade with India.

Meanwhile, visiting Singapore, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankarhit out at Pakistan for its “industry-level” support to terrorism, stressing that any talks with Pakistan would need to “face up to the problem”.

Underlining that Pakistan has been sponsoring terrorism against India, Jaishankar asked, “How do you deal with a neighbour who does not hide the fact that they use terrorism as an instrument of statecraft?”

“It’s not a one-off happening…but very sustained, almost at an industry level…So what we have come to conclude is that we have to find a way of addressing (the menace), that dodging the problem gets us nowhere, it only invites more trouble,” he said.