Dreams come true: Trade relations between J

Srinagar, Oct 21 (UNI) A 85-year-old businessman from the downtown city wants to travel once again through the Jehlum valley road to Karachi and Lahore as trade relations resumed today between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir(PoK).

Though it yet another chapter opened in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, but residents of this part of Kashmir, who died during the past six decades in PoK and other Pakistani cities, could only be remembered now, said 85-year-old Haji Noor Mohammad Mughloo, a businessman from Rainawari who used to take part in the exhibitions in Lahore and Karachi before partition.

They could not see their close relations, including wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters and parents after they got held up on other side of the border in 1947, he told UNI.

However, resumption of bus service since 2005 has helped to a great extent people living across both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) to meet each other, Mr Mughloo said.

Recalling his young days when he was visited different cities in Pakistan, he said a bus ' Nanda' was operating between Srinagar and Rawalpindi.

He said passengers and others were frisked at Domail by a few personnel in uniform.

Mr Mughloo said he and other Kashmiri traders used to visit Pakistan through Rawalpindi, avoiding Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

A 13-seater bus besides driver was plying from here to Rawalpindi everyday. ''We were staying at Uri for a night halt for onward journey next morning,'' he said. Rs ten was being charged by 'Nanda' travels bus, he said.

He said it was during 1946 he participated in an exhibition at Lahore. ''On way I visited Jehlum,'' he said adding this was the last visit because of Partition.

''We were selling paper machie, wood carving and other Kashmiri arts during the exhibitions,'' he said adding he had never visited any Indian city before 1947. However, ''after the Jehlum valley road was closed we shifted our business to different Indian cities, including Gujarat,'' he said adding now Kashmiris are doing business in almost all parts of India.

The traders from here were exporting dry and fresh fruits and Kashmiri arts to other side of the border.

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