India To Discuss Trade, Commerce With Pak: Mufti

NEW DELHI: The Jammu Kashmir's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today said Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has assured the party leadership of taking steps to streamline the cross Line of Control (LoC) trade and commerce in Jammu and Kashmir, Geo news reported Indian media as saying. The assurance came during a meeting between Chidambaram and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in New Delhi. It was also assured that adequate banking facilities would be set up to facilitate trade, a PDP release said here.

Mehbooba brought to the notice of home minister the bottlenecks in trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakote routes. The trade was begun in 2008 during the Congress-PDP government.

Chidambaram also said steps would be taken for creating infrastructure facilities at trade centers of Salamabad in Uri sector of Baramulla and Ranger in Poonch district of Jammu province, the release claimed.

“The PDP president and the home minister reviewed the over all situation in the state,” it said.

She said the divided families, whose plight had prompted the previous government to reopen the traditional routes, continued to suffer separation and the bus service, which had been started with lots of hope, was becoming less and less popular.

She told the home minister that many Kashmiris were being denied passports on flimsy grounds. “This issue needs to be addressed by the Home Ministry,” the release said quoting Mehbooba.

Earlier, speaking after the laying the foundation stone of Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari border on Saturday Chidambaram said: “We have not got a MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status that is a fact and that’s a complaint we make, it is a fact of life but because we do not have the MFN status that doesn’t not mean that all trade and commerce should come to an end.

We will continue the demand for the MFN status but we will also continue to encourage trade and commerce”.

To give boost to the trade between the two countries India has given MFN status to Pakistan in 1998 but Pakistan is still reluctant to reciprocate with the same gesture, he said

Union Home Minister Chidambaram along with Indian Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal laid foundation stone of Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari border, which aims at improving trade link between India and Pakistan.

The project, envisaged to boost the trade and commerce between India and Pakistan, is being constructed at a cost of Indian Rs. 150 crores to be developed on 130 acres of land acquired by the Indian Punjab Government.

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