Saturday, April 28, 2012

Joint LoC federation floated

Ahead of HS talks, traders meet on LoC

In a major initiative to spice up cross-LoC trade previous Home Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan on could twenty four and twenty five, the traders of each routes—Poonch-Rawlakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad these days shaped forty four members Joint LoC Trade Federation comprising twenty two members from either side to organize their charter of demands and submit them to their respective Home Secretaries before the meeting.

The Joint LoC Trade Federation was shaped during a meeting of the traders from each elements of divided State held at Chakan-Da-Bagh, the road dividing Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) throughout the day these days.

The Federation of Poonch-Rawlakote traders and Uri-Muzaffarabad traders can have twenty two members every, eleven every from four sides i.e. Poonch (including different elements of Jammu), Rawlakote, Uri (including different elements of Kashmir) and Muzaffarabad.

Today’s meeting at cross-LoC trade purpose of Chakan-Da-Bagh was attended by 121 traders as well as fifty one from this a part of divided State and seventy one from different facet of LoC. Pawan Anand, president, Karan Singh, general secretary and Rajiv Tandon, convenor led the team from this facet whereas Choudhary Mohammad Latief, president and Akhter Hussain, general secretary, represented trader fraternity of Rawlakote.

Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO), Poonch and MA Qureshi, DySP Poonch joined traders of this facet whereas Akhter Hussain, TFO Hajeera (Rawlakote) and Custodian Hajeera represented PoK.

Sources said the traders from either side determined that it had been largely turning into not possible for them to run the trade on simply red chilly or few different things. They determined to require up the difficulty with trade facilitation authorities that the Governments of India and Pakistan ought to prepare a negative list of trade and permit traders to import-export all different things rather than confining the cross-LoC business to only twenty one things.

"Even from at intervals twenty one things approved for trade on 2 cross-LoC routes, authorities from either side continued to impose restrictions on numerous things on one pretext or the other’’, the traders lamented.

It may be mentioned here that Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan were meeting in Islamabad on could twenty four and twenty five to require a number of problems as well as measures to spice up cross-LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir. Home Secretary R K Singh was earlier scheduled to go to Chakan-Da-Bagh and Uri few days back however the visit was postponed. Sources said the visit might occur in second week of could as Mr Singh wished to acquaint himself with issues of the traders to require them up together with his counterpart in Islamabad meeting.

Sources said the traders of 2 elements of divided State additionally resolved their problems touching on account disputes as trade was conducted on barter system.

The traders from either side are insisting on switching over to use of currency rather than barter system and communication link (ISD link) from Jammu and Kashmir to PoK so the businessmen might check with one another and discuss the things to be imported and exported. They were additionally demanding trade visa to facilitate visit of the traders to envision the things for import-export, sources said.

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