A Pakistani business advocacy group has estimated that Pakistan has lost about US$40 billion since trade with India was suspended in 2019, and has urged both governments to restore commercial ties — pointing to India’s assistance to Sri Lanka during its economic crisis as evidence that neighbours can support one another.
The estimate came from Noor Muhammad Qasuri, chairman of the Pak-India Business Council, in a statement issued on Monday 2 November and reported by NDTV World in a dispatch carried by the Daily Mirror on 4 November.
Trade between the two countries was halted in 2019 following the Pulwama attack and subsequent escalations.
Where the cost falls
Qasuri said the suspension forced Pakistani firms to source essential raw materials from distant markets, raising freight costs and delivery times.
He identified two sectors in particular. Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry had relied on raw materials available in India, and resuming those imports could save US$2–3 billion a year, he said. Textile mills, facing falling domestic cotton output, had been obliged to buy cotton from Brazil, Egypt, China and the United States — an estimated US$5 billion in additional spending.
Sugar, fertiliser, cement, petroleum products, iron and steel, vegetables and heavy machinery are also being imported from distant suppliers despite India’s production capacity, he said. Indian refineries are closer to Pakistan, which could make petroleum imports cheaper and faster.
He also warned that the area under cotton cultivation is shrinking as farmers switch to sugarcane, and called for better agricultural policies to revive domestic production.
The Sri Lanka reference
Arguing for regional economic cooperation, Qasuri cited India’s financial assistance to Sri Lanka during its economic crisis as an example of how neighbouring countries can help one another in difficult times.
Restoring trade would open opportunities in investment, tourism and regional cooperation on both sides, he said, and could draw Indian visitors to religious and historical sites and ancestral villages in Pakistan.
Political differences should not block economic opportunity, he added, and outstanding disputes could be addressed through dialogue: “Pakistan and India share historical, cultural and family ties, which could provide a foundation for improved relations.”
A note on the figure
The US$40 billion is an estimate advanced by an industry body campaigning for the resumption of trade, not an audited or officially assessed loss. Neither government is reported as endorsing it, and the dispatch carries no response from either side.