Pak emergency hits LoC trade

etala’at News Service

New Delhi, Nov 08: The visiting delegation of federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce has cancelled their visit to J&K following the imposition of emergency in Pakistan. The delegation was scheduled to arrive on 13th of this month.

Due to the uncertain political environment in Pakistan, the Indo-Pak initiative to start trading of agreed articles across the line of control faces a setback. Meanwhile the Indian officials, who will participate in the SAFTA meet in Dhaka later this month, will meet their Pakistani counterparts to gauge the situation and prepare a revised plan.

On October 1, the two sides decided to go a step ahead and allow trucks loaded with the identified commodities into each other’s territories. Earlier, the trucks were made to unload at the border from where coolies ferried the goods into India and Pakistan.

Pakistan and India have already exchanged a list of products they want to export across LoC. India had sent a list of 14 items, of which Pakistan rejected five. The rejected items include leather & leather products, juices, jams & honey, ready-made tin packed foods, copper & silver items and fabricated items like gold ornaments.

The items which Pakistan is ready to negotiate include carpet, rugs, handicrafts, furniture & wooden items, silk & silk products, papier mache, Pashmina, Kashmiri fruits, dry fruits, Kashmiri spices, flowers, Kashmiri saffron and Wazwan, aromatic & medicinal plants, fruit-bearing plants and other agri items like dhania, moong, Basmati rice, spices, fresh fruit and black mushroom.

India, on the other hand, has reportedly expressed its willingness to allow six of the 16 items proposed by Pakistan such as precious stones, namdas (a type of mat), furniture, medicinal herbs, embroidered items and Chilgoza. The items which have been rejected by India for trade across the border include spices, apples, walnuts, rice, paper and carpets. The two sides are yet to decide on points from which the LoC trade will take place.

Pakistan allows exports of certain essential commodities such as halal meats and few categories of live animals, garlic, potato, ginger, tomato, onion, buffalo meat, sheep and goats from India to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah road route since last year.