Modi undoes Vajpayee’s Cross LoC Trade CBM: Omar

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that Modi government buries another part of the Vajpayee era confidence-building measures by suspended cross LoC trade.
Taking to social networking site Twitter, Omar wrote: “The Modi Govt buries another of the Vajpayee era CBMs. Cross LoC trade was a legacy of the Vajpayee Govt decision to facilitate greater people to people contact across the Line of Control in J&K.”
“That the LoC trade may have been used by some traders for illegal activities was suspected for years now & it was to plug this that the state has been pleading for the installation of full truck scanners at the trade points,” Omar tweeted.
“Rather than install the scanners the Govt has taken the regressive & highly unfortunate step of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Instead of saving the CBM they’ve decided to abandon it,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Sadly Vajpayee Sahib’s legacy of cross LoC CBMs & the resolution of the Kashmir issue within the framework of “insaniyat, jumhuriyat & Kashmiriyat” is being sacrificed at the alter of opportunistic populism,” Omar wrote on Twitter.
Earlier Home Ministry ordered the suspension of cross-LoC trade via Salamabad (Uri) and Chakan-da-Bagh (Poonch) routes.
“The Govt of India has received reports that cross LoC trade routes being misused by Pakistan based elements. The misuse involves illegal inflows of weapons, narcotics & fake currency etc,” said the MHA, in an order.
The order said the cross-LoC trade mechanism is therefore suspended till a stricter regulatory regime is put in place.
“This is to ensure that only bonafide trade takes place, for the benefit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, through this mechanism,” reads the order issued by MHA.