No progress on trade via Line of Control in Kashmir

New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) India and Pakistan remained non-committal on trade through the Line of Control in Kashmir, nearly two years after the two governments had agreed to launch it across the LoC at Salamabad on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road as part of the confidence building mechanism.

The issue came up for informal discussion when a 12-member Pakistan delegation led by Commerce Secretary Syed Asaf Ali Shah called on Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh here today, sources said.

When the Indian Minister enquired about the progress on trade via the LoC, Pakistan delegates told him that business person-members of 'AJK' Chamber of Commerce had not been issued visa to visit Kashmir to interact with their counterparts - Kashmir Chamber of Commerce.

They said 'AJK' Chamber of Commerce had sent a list of 60 delegates for issue of visa. But Regional Passport Officer at Srinagar, the nodal officer for the purpose, had reportedly said they had not received any request for visa from business persons from across the LoC.

Indian traders in Kashmir have been asking how the two-way trade can be carried out without telephonic link between two sides of Kashmir. They said even if the trade point is opened, trade can not be undertaken without telecommunication facilities on both sides of the LoC, asking how a consignee or a consigner would know the fate of goods whether these had reached destination. Indian Kashmiris would have to fly to New Delhi to ring up Pakistan to find out the fate of traded goods, they said.

Sources said the trade issue across the LoC was locked up somewhere in the foreign ministries of the two countries.

UNI