Ishfaq Tantry
SRINAGAR: After “assurances” from the authorities, traders have decided to resume the cross-LoC trade activity from tomorrow. The trade was suspended since September 3.
The decision to resume the trade from Tuesday was taken by the Salamabad-Chakoti Traders Union during a meeting today after it was “promised by the authorities that its demands would be looked into”.
The cross-LoC trade on the Salamabad-Chakoti axis is conducted four days a week from Tuesday to Friday.
“Today we had a meeting, in which it was decided that the trade would be resumed from September 10,” said president of the Salamabad-Chakoti Traders Union Tariq Khan.
On August 31, traders had threatened to suspend the trans-LoC trade for an indefinite period. Subsequently, business was suspended by them on September 3 over the Customs Department order banning the import and export of a few items, including mangoes and dates, from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Khan said the decision to resume trade was taken following assurances from the authorities.
“They assured us that our demands about rescinding the controversial Customs order would be looked into,” he said, adding that they had also taken up the issue regarding the verification of traders with the state government.
He said many traders had already dispatched goods in trucks to the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre at Uri, and the trucks would probably cross over to the other side on Tuesday.
Resenting the Customs orders, traders have been arguing that “hurdles” were being created in the smooth run of the trade by the authorities. The latest Customs order banned the export and import of mangoes and dates via Kaman Post (Uri) in Kashmir and Chakan da Bagh (Poonch) in Jammu, the two crossing points along the LoC in the state.
(tns)
