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| LoC trade dying unsung death? | | |
Salman Nizami
Jammu, March 15: In the midst of Lok Sabha election season the cross-LoC trade and travel is becoming a hot political slogan but lost in the political din, the process is dying its unsung death.
While travel across the Line of Control has falling casualty to the cumbersome clearance process, the trade has been almost called off for the same reasons. Only a formal confirmation from the government is awaited which may not come at all.
Fruit growers and traders associations in state have suspended the trade with their counter parts in POK. Traders accuse the government of “Indifferent attitude” vis-vis the visit of traders delegation from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan occupied Kashmir. “We have suspended the trade for now,” Ram Sahai President Chamber of commerce and Industries Jammu told Early Times.
We have no knowledge about what happened to the goods we have already sent to PoK since the LOC trade began on October 21.The consignment amount to nearly Rs 3.50 lacs of Jammu and Rs 45 lacs of Kashmir and we have no knowledge as to what happened to it. He said the Pakistan traders can call us but we are not able to call them from here even there is no courier service also, during a conversation with Early Times he said, ‘Hum to phone nahi karpate, nahi vaha se phone aya, khuda jane humsai konsi khata huei, As we are not able to phone call neither we have received a call from their side, God knows what is our fault. He also said that the steps should be followed by restoring communication, banking arrangements and other requirements for smooth trade.
On November 12 Governer N.N.Vohra reviewed the cross LOC trade and discussed the modalities for the visit of a delegation of the representatives of chambers of industries, various traders associates manufactures and fruit growers of the Jammu and Kashmir regions to POK.
List of 119 persons, including the names of 45 persons from Jammu division was handed over to Ashok Bhan director general of police CID, who had assured the governor that the required clearance of the names of proposed traders delegations to POK would be accorded with a day. Even after more than four months, the traders were not allowed to visits the other part of state.
At the time when government is seeking opening of more routes from across the line dividing two parts of Jammu and Kashmir, no fresher from Jammu region of the state has taken voyage to Pakistan administered Kashmir from last two weeks. The ‘no’ journey from the people of Jammu is despite the issuance of required travel advisories by the state authorities. Sources said that during the last two weeks, not a single person from Jammu district has boarded the weekly Poonch-Rawalakote bus service through Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Pooch district of the winter capital.
At the same time, however there is increase in the number of people from Pak and as many as 35 members of divided families reached Poonch last Monday, on March 9.
“There was no clearance from Pakistan to the citizens of this side,” Passport Officer, B S Manavalan said. The passport office issues 30 to 40 permits every week for cross-LoC travel, he added. After the Mumbai attacks, no one from Pak visited valley on 8 December but the number of the visitors started to pick up.
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