| J&K, PoK businessmen hail Indo-Pak thaw, call for more CBMs | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 21: Hailing the thaw in India-Pakistan relationship, the business communities of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have called upon Islamabad and New Delhi to widen the scope of confidence building measures and strengthen existing ties. In light of the resumption of comprehensive bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan, 23 members of the business and trading communities from both sides of Jammu and Kashmir met in Dubai from December 16 to 19 and deliberated upon future prospects of intra-Kashmir confidence building measures (CBMs).
"The group welcomed the steps taken by both governments to resume the dialogue process and hoped that Islamabad and New Delhi will take tangible steps to further strengthen trade, travel, and civil society exchanges across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir," a joint statement said.
The meeting was also an opportunity to convene an annual meeting of key members of the J&K Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JK-JCCI), the first-ever platform of cross-Line-of-Control collaboration, facilitated by Conciliation Resources, it said. During three-day meeting, representatives of the business community affiliated to Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber and other regional chambers and federations welcomed the steps taken by both governments to resume the dialogue process.
"The focus of the meeting was to widen the scope of CBMs and include banking facilities, telephone connectivity and undertaking trade in dollars between two sides," Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) president Rakes Gupta said.
As per the joint statement, members urged the governments to take urgent steps to address various obstacles encountered by LoC traders including improving connectivity among traders from both sides, facilitating frequent meetings of traders at the LoC, improving infrastructure at the trade facilitation centers and the installation of full body truck scanners, banking facilities, increasing the list of tradable items and the number of trading days, and easing customs procedures.
The members urged the governments to open new trade routes, particularly the Kargil-Skardu and Nowshera-Chammb trade routes, to expand the scope and impact of CBMs in the region, it said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Pakistan earlier this month announced the decision to hold comprehensive Indo-Pak dialogue.
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