Srinagar: The Cross-Line of Control (LoC) between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PaK) resumed Friday after remaining suspended since July 21 after drugs were recovered from a truck at Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) Salamabad Uri on July 21.
Meanwhile, reports said that traders in the Jammu and Kashmir have been advised not to do any business with 34 companies of PaK who have been blacklisted to weed out any illegal activity on cross-LoC trade routes, following the recovery of drugs.
Cross-LoC trade resumed Friday, official sources said adding trucks from here crossed over to other side. Similarly trucks from other side of the Line of Control (LoC) also arrived here, sources said.
Police also confirmed that trucks cross sides at the Kaman post, the last Indian military post on this side of the LoC. However, details will be known only in the evening, police said.
However, the Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and POK resumed on Monday and 178 residents of both the sides cross sides at Kaman Post, the last Indian military post on this side of the LoC in Uri sector on Monday last.
The trade between the two parts of the LoC was suspended after 66.5 kgs of narcotic drugs were recovered from a truck at TFC at Salamabad, Uri , which was part of the trade that started from 2008. The truck driver Syed Yousuf, son of Ali Akbar was arrested after the recovery of drugs.
However, despite agreeing to resume trade at a meeting between the authorities of Jammu and Kashmir and PaK on August 3, trade could not be resumed as truckers from other side were demanding release of the arrested driver.
On Tuesday last four trucks from here crossed to over side but had to return back without unloading the goods and no truck from other side arrived here.
The meeting between officials from both sides also took several other decisions to streamline the trade and prevent such incidents. During the meeting, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla Dr Nasir Ahmad Naqash had stressed upon Director General (DG) Travel and Trade Authority of PaK Shahid Ahmad for carrying out the trade process in a transparent manner and ensuring stringent checks on the traded items.
Dr Naqash said that scrutiny of trade associated vehicles should be strengthened so that all the hurdles confronting it are eliminated.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla Mir Imtiyaz Hussain also presented the details of the recently occurred incident on which the DG assured him that the trade process in future will be carried out transparently.
The PaK delegation was also briefed about the investigation being carried by police in the narcotics case during the meeting. The POK officials assured that they would improve the mechanism of checking and scanning at Trade Centre Chakhoti so that such incidents are prevented in future”, he said.
Meanwhile, the recovery of narcotics is being considered very serious as the intelligence agencies here believe that it was being used for financing terror activities.
During the course of investigation, the NIA has reportedly found some companies doing business through cross-LoC trade transferring funds to militancy purpose in the J&K.
About 300 companies and traders are engaged in cross-LoC trade since 2008 after India and Pakistan agreed to resume the trading activities since 1947.
