Hours after surgical strikes, cross-LoC trade goes on

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 29

Hours after the Army’s surgical strikes, the cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade went on routinely today as 36 trucks crossed Aman Sethu at the Kaman Post. The cross-LoC trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route had resumed on Tuesday in Kashmir after remaining suspended for over two months due to the unrest in the Valley.

On the third day of the trade, 26 trucks from Kashmir crossed the LoC and 10 from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) came in. The custodian of the cross-LoC trade at Salamabad, Farooq Ahmed Shah, said the trade went on smoothly.

“The crossing of trucks took place smoothly and the trade is expected to go on routinely tomorrow also,” Shah said. “All trucks were scanned before crossing,” he said.

Initially, the cross-LoC trade was allowed on two days, but after 2011 it is being carried out for four days in a week. After the trade resumed recently, on the first day 12 trucks carrying goods from this side of Kashmir crossed to PoK while one truck came from there. On Wednesday, 10 trucks from Kashmir crossed over to PoK and two trucks came.

The cross-LoC trade began on October 21, 2008. Along with the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, flagged off by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 7, 2005, trade was considered by New Delhi and Islamabad as major confidence-building exercise between the two countries.

However, with tension escalating, there are fears among the locals that these might get hit. “There are fears about the Kashmir trade and travel due to the situation, but we hope the tension does not hit these,” said a cross LoC trader.