No impact of Uri attack on cross-LoC trade
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 20
Amid strained relations between India and Pakistan against the backdrop of the Uri terror attack, the trans-Line of Control (LoC) trade between the two hostile countries through the Poonch-Rawalkot route remained normal at Chakkan-da-Bagh in Poonch district today.
It followed the normal movement of weekly cross-LoC bus service ‘Rahen Milan’ between the two sides. On Monday, a bus with eight passengers on board went to Muzaffarabad, across the LoC, from Uri where the terrorists on Sunday had killed 18 Army men in one of the bloodiest attacks in the recent years.
“The cross-LoC trade remained normal between the two sides. At least 22 vehicles, carrying mangoes, dried dates and other items, entered Poonch from the other side via the Chakkan-da-Bagh point while three vehicles from our side carrying different items went to Rawalkot side,” Tanvir Ahmed, Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO), Poonch, told The Tribune.
He said there was nothing “unusual” between the two sides and the trade was being conducted in a hassle-free manner. “We can’t comment about the fate of trade between two sides in view of the Uri terror attack,” the TFO said.
The cross-LoC trade between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir had begun on October 10, 2008. The decision to initiate trade was the outcome of a meeting between the then Indian Prime Minister and the Pakistan President in April, 2005. Currently, the two sides trade goods for four days a week — from Tuesday to Friday.
Pawan Anand, president, Cross-LoC Traders’ Union, Chakkan-da-Bagh, admitted that there was a strong resentment among the traders over the killing of soldiers in Uri. “Insecurity and uncertainty prevail among the traders of both sides following the attack. We have talked to our counterparts on the other side of the LoC and they are also worried about the fate of trade. A huge amount of money (through trading of goods) is at a stake,” he said.
The union president said any decision at a higher level between the two countries would be acceptable but the strained relations between India and Pakistan, particularly after the Uri terror attack and the Pathankot airbase incident, have fuelled uncertainty among the traders.
Pertinently, the pressure is building up on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to take stern military and diplomatic action against Pakistan following the Uri attack. There is a widespread perception among the people in the state that the Centre could snap all economic and trade ties with Pakistan.
The two countries had started the cross-LoC bus services between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad (April, 2005) and Rawalkot-Poonch (June, 2006) as a part of major confidence-building measures (CBMs) to normalise strained relations. The bus crosses the LoC every Monday.
