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| LoC trade : No trucks come from PoK | | Meeting on February 24 | | SYED TAHIR BUKHARI
BARAMULLA, Feb 20: Despite an agreement between officers on either side of Line of Control to resume trade from today no truck entered or left Salamabad for Chakoti and vice-versa. There would be a meeting of officials on February 24 to decide about the exact date of resuming the trade activities. Sources told Early Times that no truck came from Pakistan occupied Kashmir despite the fact that trucks had been kept at Salamabad for their onward journey to Chakoti in PoK. The reluctance shown by drivers from the other side following the arrest of Mohammad Shafi Awan, a driver of PoK is the main bone of contention between the two sides."Whereas Indian and Pakistani authorities had agreed to resume trade no Pakistani truck arrived at the crossing point. After talks between the Indo-Pak authorities here on February 18 a hope had generated that trade will start soon but that was not to be. The Pakistani authorities kept their word on resuming the bus service with trade continuing to remain suspended," said sources.A breakthrough of sorts was on February 18 when the decision to resume the trade was taken in a meeting that took place between Trade facilitation officers at Zero Point near Kaman Post near the Line of Control in this North Kashmir district. During the meeting it was decided that there will be complete checking before any truck is allowed to enter on either side of LoC. "Before resuming the trade activities a meeting of traders of both the sides would be held at the zero point of LoC on Feb 24.
The meeting is being so that no untoward incident takes place in future. We had made twenty trucks ready to leave for Chakoti among which three trucks were sent initially," said Hilal Ahmad Turki, General Secretary, Salamabad-Chakoti Trade Union.Turki alleged that authorities on this side damaged goods of one truck, by opening the sealed bags for checking. He said goods worth Rs 3 lakh rupees were thrown out on ground adding that the trade is the ultimate loser at the end of the day. "We accept that cross LoC trade is CBM but that does not mean that authorities will push traders to the wall.
Let both the governments talk peacefully so that traders will not lose. We will not allow any government to dictate terms to us and it would be ensured thatinterests of traders are always supreme," said Hilal. |
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