He made the allegation speaking at a press conference after the meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Standing Committee in Dhaka yesterday.

"Though Pakistan signed the agreement which covers all tariff lines except those kept in the sensitive (negative) list, it issued a notification which limits Safta tariff concessions for India only on items on the existing bilateral positive list," said Saran. "This is clear violation of the Safta agreement's Article 23," he said.

This matter needs to be resolved with urgency otherwise Safta may well remain an agreement only in words with no way for implementation, he added.

A lot of time and effort was invested in good faith while negotiating Safta, said Saran. "All that effort has now become infructuous, because Pakistan has no intention to honour an understanding solemnly agreed by to all member countries."

This matter does not concern India alone. This is not merely a technical or bilateral issue. It is a negation of Safta and it jeopardises the implementation of the agreement, the secretary said.

He said Pakistan's action contradicts the public pronouncements made by its leadership who have publicly state that once Safta is operational it would constitute an Most Favoured Nation (MFN) plus trading regime.

It also contradicts with the commitments made by the leaders of the 13th Saarc summit when they had reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate cooperation in economic and commercial fields.

Safta came into effect retrospectively from January 1 and it has been operational from July 1 this year.

When asked about the peace process between India and Pakistan, Saran said peace process could proceed in an atmosphere free from violence and terrorism.

"I am very much looking forward to having an exchange of views with my Pakistani counterpart soon on all bilateral issues," Saran said, who was to meet his Pakistani counterpart sometime last night.

The India-Pakistan foreign secretary-level meeting scheduled for July 21 in New Delhi was postponed following bomb blasts in Mumbai on July 11.

Saran said, "It is important for us to be able to convince our people that Pakistan is implementing the assurances given from its highest level that no parts under its control would used for violence against India."

India would try to engage Pakistan in discussion on this issue and other matters, Saran said.

Indian Joint Secretary of External Affairs Priti Saran was also present at the press meet.