MEA push to resolve cross-LoC trade issue

Asks commerce ministry to step in

With India and Pakistan failing to resolve the imbroglio over the suspension of trade and bus services across the Line of Control (LoC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the commerce ministry to step in.

“We are working on it. But commerce minister has to go to Pakistan soon so obviously something will happen. Both the ministries are trying to sort it out,” external affairs minister Salman Khurshid told Business Standard on the sidelines of an event on Thursday.

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma is travelling to Pakistan next week to attend the ‘India Show’ organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry from February 14 to 16. Sharma is expected to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders.

On February 5, trade facilitation officers of the two countries had met at Kaman Post along the LoC to amicably resolve the matter, but failed to reach agreement. However, bus services were resumed from Monday.

India and Pakistan are also going to have a Joint Working Group meeting on LoC trade and revisit the agreed modalities. The dates for this have not been finalised. Tasnim Aslam Khan, spokesperson for Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, has said it will raise the issue of enhancing the monitoring and scanning procedures.

The matter was also discussed during a meeting between Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan and Pakistan’s foreign secretary this week.

Cross-LoC trade has been suspended on both the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes since January 17 following the arrest of a driver, Muhammad Shafi hailing from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, for allegedly smuggling 114 packets of brown sugar costing about Rs 100 crore. 

 

As a result, the cross-LoC trade was suspended on both the Srinagar- Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes. 

 

As per the modalities agreed by both sides earlier, the Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO) located near the crossing points – Kaman Post and Chakkan-da-Bagh – near LoC will physically examine and scan the cargo to verify that only permitted goods are being shipped. And in cases if the goods are found in contravention of any law then it should be handed over to J&K Police for necessary action.  

 

Pakistan has demanded the driver be released so that he can be investigated and prosecuted in Pakistan. However, India has maintained that the driver will be tried under Indian laws.

 

As fallout of this entire situation, 48 Pakistani drivers and their vehicles from that side are stranded on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir. They have also detained 27 Indian drivers and their vehicles.