Hundreds of Islamist activists took to the streets of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir on Friday to protest the government's plan to boost trade with longtime rival India.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Cabinet approved a proposal granting India “Most Favored Nation” trade status. The designation removes tariffs and allows the countries to trade on equal terms.

Members of the banned Pakistani groups Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami gathered in Muzaffarabad, the main town in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and changed slogans against the Pakistani government and India.

India said Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. The assault derailed peace talks between India and Pakistan for more than two years. The nuclear-armed nations restarted the peace process this year.

While India granted Pakistan MFN status in 1996, Pakistan has hesitated. Critics in Pakistan have cited the long-standing dispute over Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed in full by both countries.

Other have expressed concerns about cheaper Indian goods flooding the Pakistani market.

In September, the two countries' trade ministers pledged to more than double the value of bilateral trade to $6 billion within three years.

Trade flows between the neighbors have remained relatively small due to a legacy of mistrust. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since their independence from Britain in 1947.