Tarigami for lifting of ban on Pak salt imports

Srinagar, Apr 23: CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has urged the Centre to lift the ban on the import of Pakistani salt to Jammu and Kashmir so that old memories and ties were revived.

''The people of Kashmir preserve in their minds, even now, the nostalgic memories of Pakistani salt, once upon time, a commodity of common consumption in every home in the Valley,'' he said.

Mr Tarigami has stated in the document he would present at the third round-table conference convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi tomorrow.

The CPI(M) leader said the salt used to be imported into the state up to 1947, when its entry was suddenly banned.

''Apart from depriving almost every household of its consumption, the ban on its entry has created a psychological barrier between the people living in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir,'' he added.

Mr Tarigami said if the ban was lifted now, it would help in reviving old memories and ties between the two parts.

UNI