Cross-LoC trade, travel resume in Kashmir

Intra-Kashmir travel and trade through the Chakothi-Uri crossing point along the Line of Control (LoC) resumed as per routine today.

To avoid any law and order problem by the resumption of trade and travel, authorities in PaK had convinced the family and friends of driver Inayat Shah, detained in Jammu and Kashmir (JK) over drug trafficking charges, to call off their protest, sources privy to the development told Greater Kashmir on Sunday.

Travel across the LoC takes place every Monday while trade is done from Tuesday to Friday, from both crossing points, located in Muzaffarabad and Poonch divisions. Trade from Chakothi-Uri came to a halt after the JK authorities claimed to have recovered narcotic substance from an orange laden truck from PaK on February 6. As a result, 50 trucks from JK and 22 from PaK were stuck up on opposite sides.

Apart from the trade, travel through the same point was also suspended on Monday last due to the security concerns, triggered by the protest demonstrations by the relatives and family friends of the detained driver.
On February 11, the PaK and JK authorities reached some sort of consensus following which all but one of the 72 stranded trucks were allowed to return to their respective sides late in the evening.

PaK officials also announced resumption of trade, but on the following day, only 15 fresh fruit laden trucks from JK crossed the LoC against none from PaK.
The consignments unloaded by the JK trucks at Chakothi terminal could not be transported to the upcountry markets, because local truckers had threatened to disrupt the activity, until the release of their colleague. Resultantly, no trade was conducted on Friday (February 13). The relatives and family friends of detained driver had also threatened to disrupt bus service on Monday (today), but they had reportedly deferred their plan on the intervention of some notables of Muzaffarabad, sources told . It was after that, the consignments from Chakothi were loaded on trucks to be unloaded in the Islamabad fruit market, they said.