Goods worth over Rs10m traded across LoC

Bilateral trade was affected due to Indo-Pak tensions along the LoC.

MIRPUR: A remarkable output of bilateral cross-LoC trade between Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Indian-held Kashmir emerged on Tuesday after the goods, containing permitted items worth over Rs10 million were traded across the line of control (LoC) at the Taitrinote - Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point on Rawlakot-Poonch route, official sources said.

As many as 15 trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) Poonch city of Indian held Kashmir to Rawalakot AJK carrying bags of banana, chillies and herbs worth Rs4.4 million, according to the sources.

From AJK, seven trucks laden with almonds, dry dates and apples worth Rs5.6 million entered the Indian side of the LoC, they said.

Officials from both sides monitored the exchange of these goods which took place in two phases on Tuesday.

The cross-LoC barter trade through historic Rawalakot-Poonch and Muzaffarabad-Srinagar routes through Taitrinote-Chakan-Da-Bagh and Chakothi-Uri crossing points was started in October 2008 to facilitate the Kashmiri entrepreneurs at both sides to the LoC to exchange the trade of a total of 21 permitted locally-produced items under the barter system.

The cross-LoC trade through Taitrinote-Chakan-Da-Bagh was reportedly affected for few days recently following tension on the LoC due to the reported skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops on the LoC.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.

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