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| Drug haul hits cross LoC trade | | PoK authorities sit over DC's e-mail | | Take 100 drivers, conductors as hostage; Traders threaten to call it quits
Fazal Khan
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 11: There are remote possibilities of cross LoC trade being resumed in coming days as the authorities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are adamant on their demand seeking the release of a truck driver from whose vehicle a drug haul meant for a Kashmiri trader was recovered last week.
Pertinently, police last week had arrested four people, including Anayat Hussain, truck driver from Muzaffarabad, after 307 packets containing narcotic substance were recovered from his vehicle, and three local traders Zahoor Ahmad, Abdul Majeed and Muhammad Yusuf as consignment was marked for them.
In retaliation, PoK authorities detained 50 trucks that had gone to Chakoti from this side at Trade Facilitation Centre there with goods and refused to take back 21 out of 22 trucks which had crossed the LoC.
Talking to Early Times Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Talat Parvaiz said: "We have sent an e-mail to them and are waiting for their response. Authorities from other side were supposed to call us on Tuesday but till now we have not received any communication from the other side."
The DC said, "As per the information received by us people on the other side are trying to build up a mechanism to ensure that such practice is not repeated in future."
He said, "We have informed them that law has to take its own course and the accused driver has to face the law of the land. At present impasse is continuing and we are waiting for a breakthrough."
The Governor N N Vohra on Tuesday had recommended that till issues are sorted out from this side, the cross LoC trade should be diverted to other side and it should resume through Chakandabagh-Poonch but PoK authorities turned down the proposal.
The Deputy Commissioner Baramulla while commenting on the development said: "We were told by the other side that trade cannot be taken up from Poonch side due to lack of facilities and the TFC on the other side can facilitate the movement of only 25 trucks daily and the proposal is not workable."
Following the impasse over cross LoC trade, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service was also suspended earlier this week.
Cross LoC traders from this side while talking to Early Times said that if stalemate continues they can suffer losses in crores as most Kashmiri traders from this side deal with perishable items. "We will have to pay dearly for the stubborn attitude of the PoK authorities. If someone has done wrong he should be punished. We can't understand why they are making us all suffer just for the sake of one person," they said.
The traders said in 2014 similar kind of situation had arisen after Brown sugar was recovered from a Kashmir bound PoK truck that time also we were made to suffer as authorities on the other side remained adamant on their demand to seek the release of the arrested driver and trade remained suspended for more than one and a half month. "We are fed up of this business and many people have already changed their line and have said goodbye to cross LoC trade. We are also thinking on the same lines," the traders added.
They said the poor drivers have to suffer for no fault of theirs at present "PoK authorities have taken more than 100 drivers and conductors as hostages for no fault of theirs. It's ridiculous," they added. |
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