Kashmir traders meet on LoC

The charter demands daily bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar and tourists’ visit on both sides of LoC

MUZAFFARABAD:

Traders in the divided Kashmir valley seemed more interested in exchange of goods than exchange of fire between Pakistan and Indian forces, as they demanded more pints of trade on the Line of Control (LoC).

Following a gap of one year, businesspeople from Indian Kashmir and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) braved freezing temperatures and light rain to meet halfway on Chakoti Bridge on Wednesday to discuss trans-LoC trade and travel, sources told The Express Tribune.

Traders from both sides of Kashmir appealed to the government of Pakistan and India to open more crossing points on LoC to facilitate travel and trade.

According to the sources the 10-member team of AJK traders was headed by DG Travel and Trade Authority (TATA) Brig (retd) Imtiaz Wain while the eight-member delegation of Indian Kashmir arrived under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Baramulla.

After a two hour meeting, the traders jointly released a charter of demand available with The Express Tribune.

The charter, among other demands seeks, more trade routes on LoC, multiple entry permits for traders, lifting of ban on items such as pulses and herbs, inclusion of more items in the trade list, daily bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar and  tourists’ visit on both sides of LoC,

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th,  2016.