国际英语新闻:India withdraws MFN status to Pakistan after suicide attack on security men

NEW DELHI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- India on Friday withdrew the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan in the aftermath of Thursday's suicide attack on a convoy of paramilitary force in India-controlled Kashmir.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister (Internal Security) Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.

The attack, which killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and injured an equal number of officers belonging to the Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), is being described as the worst-ever terror attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir in recent years.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad group had subsequently claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

The MFN status is an economic position in which a country enjoys the best trade terms given by its trading partner, which means it receives the lowest tariffs, the fewest trade barriers, and the highest import quotas.

Jaitley was quoted as saying, "The 'most favoured nation' status which was granted to Pakistan, stands withdrawn."