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Heart of Punjab: India-Pak trade revival can vastly benefit state

The sprawling integrated check-post (ICP) built over 121 acres on the Attari-Wagah border was inaugurated with much fanfare in April 2012 as the Indian government pushed for the normalisation of ties with neighbouring Pakistan by increasing people-to-people connect. After over...
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Illustration by Sandeep Joshi.
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The sprawling integrated check-post (ICP) built over 121 acres on the Attari-Wagah border was inaugurated with much fanfare in April 2012 as the Indian government pushed for the normalisation of ties with neighbouring Pakistan by increasing people-to-people connect.

After over 12 years, the ICP is among the projects that are almost lying unused after the ties between the two countries soured following an attack on a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force in February 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama that killed 40 soldiers.

India retaliated with an airstrike on the terror infrastructure in Balakot inside the Pakistan territory the same month.

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Since then, the rush of vehicles and people from both sides — which this check-post used to witness following a spurt in trade ties and the launching of bus and trade services — has almost come to a naught.

Except a few trucks that bring dry fruits and juicier grapes, pomegranate and sun melon from Afghanistan and halt at the ICP before proceeding to their destinations in India, no business is transacted with Pakistan through the route.

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This impacted business interests of cash-strapped Punjab, which has been worst hit following the cessation of cross-border trade between the two countries.

Rajdeep Singh Uppal, who imports fresh fruits from Afghanistan, said earlier vegetables grown in Punjab had formed a major part of the exports to Pakistan.

“It fetched decent returns for the growers here as low transport costs kept the prices in check. Punjab manufactures agricultural appliances, which found great demand across the border. It gave a boost to the country’s technologically advanced MSME sector,” he added.

According to officials, there was a time when close to 300 trucks used to arrive here daily and proceeded to parts of three countries — India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Now, less than 15 trucks arrive from Afghanistan at the ICP daily, that too from January to September every year, while India has discontinued exports to the neighbouring countries through the route.

The check-post, which is operated by the Land Port Authority of India, currently has thin staff, including customs officials, security personnel and a team of engineers.

The uncertainty in bilateral ties has also taken a toll on the infrastructure built to facilitate the movement of people between both countries. The railway station built on the Indian side at Attari too lying under-utilised, with only two pairs of local trains arriving there daily from Amritsar.

The Samjhauta Express, a train that used to arrive at border point before passengers used to undertake their further journeys in the two countries, was too discontinued by the two countries in 2019. Currently only security personnel, some engineers, railway staff and police personnel man the station.

Even an SBI counter for currency exchange has been lying closed after the train was discontinued.

Before 2019, the station used to have around 50 officials, including those from the customs and immigration departments.

Amritsar’s International Bus Terminal, situated in the heart of the city, about 35 km away from the ICP, is another example of it.

The buses that ferried people to parts of both countries used to halt at the bus stop after getting clearance at the ICP.

People from India used to travel to religious places like Nankana Sahib — the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev — while those from Pakistan visited several places in India.

The people-to-people connect was mooted to offset memories of the bitter Partition, and subsequent wars between both countries in 1965, 1971 and 1999.

The Delhi-Lahore Bus Service too came to a halt over security concerns.

Paramjit Singh, general manager of Punjab Roadways, said earlier there used to be five officials, apart from security personnel and safai sewaks.

He said currently only two safai sewaks constitute the staff there.

The Delhi-Lahore bus service, known as the Sada-E-Sarhad initiative, was first to be launched on February 19, 1999 after then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan. Though the bus service was an instant hit, it was interrupted following the 1999 Kargil War and the terror attack on Indian Parliament in 2001.

In 2006, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off a bus between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib as a confidence-building measure. Pakistan, too, reciprocated by launching a “Dosti” bus the same year.

In 2005, the track II diplomacy was on full display when about 2,700 cricket fans crossed over from Pakistan’s Wagah to India for a India-Pakistan cricket Test match at Mohali. The next year, India had cleared a quota of 1,000 visas for Pakistan-New Zealand and Pakistan-South Africa matches.

A similar bonhomie was on display in 2011 when both countries played the cricket World Cup semifinal in Mohali.

In 2012, then Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, following a visit to Lahore, said governments of both Punjabs had shown keen interest in setting up joint industrial zones, which would be treated on a par with the local industry.

He held parleys with then Pakistan Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is now the country’s Prime Minister, for setting up joint industrial zones.

However, the strained relations in subsequent years put a break on the initiatives.

According to experts, the relations between both countries need to improve if cash-strapped Punjab wants to draw any benefit from the facilities as the state’s huge distance from ports leaves neighbouring countries a viable option to boost its trade revenue.

This also becomes important as agriculture, which remains the backbone of the state, is turning unprofitable and the state government looking for investments to shore up its revenues.

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