MIRPUR (AJK) – Hundreds of the traders hailing from various parts of AJK, engaged in the cross-LoC trade through Muzaffarabad-Srinagar and Rawalakot-Poonch traditional routes, Monday took to the street agitation in the State’s Metropolis – Muzaffarabad to register protest and resentment against the recent unilateral suspension of the Cross-LoC trade by India – for an indefinite period under the bogey of absolutely baseless and unfounded allegations levelled against the trade and its stakeholders.
The cross LoC trade between both sides of the Line of Control in disputed Jammu Kashmir state – Azad Jammu Kashmir and Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir, had started through the above Muzaffarabad-Srinagar and Rawalakot-Poonch routes on October 20, 22, 2008 respectively under the barter system. The blind weekly trade worth billions of rupees was successfully going on under barter system with complete faith and trust upon each other by the Kashmiri entrepreneur without any complaint against each other in any respect including vis-à-vis quality of goods and timely shipment of about 21 number of the permitted items from either side.
The furious protestant cross-LoC traders took out a big procession from Central Press Club and marched to the Muzaffarabad-based office of the United Nations Military Observers Group In India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) where they handed over memorandum containing the demands including early resumption of the bilateral cross LoC trade between the two sides of the Himalayan Jammu Kashmir state.
The protestant mob was carrying placards and banners bearing slogans in support of their demands including an early resumption of the trade suspended by India under baseless charges. Vehicular traffic at Domeil, the meeting point of the Jhelum and Neelam rivers, at the historic Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road, remained suspended during the protest demonstration against the hostile act of India suspending the cross-LoC trade on both of above routes with effect from April 18 for an indefinite period levelling baseless charges against Pakistan.
Thousands of the workers engaged with the cross LoC trade at both sides of the Line of Control have reached at the verge of starvation by having been jobless ever since the trade was suspended by New Delhi. Besides the traded items worth billions of rupees under barter system have stuck at Chakhothi-Uri and Taitrinote-Chakaan Daa Bagh Crossing Points at the LoC on above Muzaffarabad-Srinagar and Rawalakot-Poonch routes.
The Cross-LoC traders leaders including Sardar Qazeem, Mahmood Ahmed, Dar, Sardar Insaar, Ejaz Ahmed Mir, Muhammad Ashraf Dar, Anjum Zaman Awan, Sardar Munawar, Mirza Shakeel Khawaja Manzoor, Ch. Munir, Ch. Imtiaz, Assad Masood, Sardar Waheed Anwar, Ch. Waqar, Shahid Mahmood, Shoukat Nawaz Mir, Mubarak Awan, Hamid Kashmiri, Shahid Mahmood, Bashir Bukhari Tanveer Taralli, Sajaad Yousaf and others led the procession which marched through the long route to the UN MOGIP office.
Addressing the protestants near the office of the UNMOGIP, the traders leaders of the rally called upon the United Nations as well as international community including American, Britain, Canada, European Union and the Islamic world besides other freedom, human rights and peace-loving nations the world over to take immediate notice of the unilateral suspension of the cross-LoC trade by India and move for performing their due role for getting the suspended bilateral trade in the internationally-acknowledged disputed Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir restored without further loss of time.
Speakers recalled that the cross LoC travel and trade between both sides of the Line of Control in the Jammu Kashmir state (AJK and IOK) had started in years of 2005 and 2008 respectively with prime focus to facilitate the disintegrated Kashmiri families to meet each other besides to ameliorate the economic conditions of the Kashmiris at either side through the bilateral trade under the confidence-building measures devised and implemented by both India and Pakistan simultaneously.
Speakers made it clear to India that they would not ever accept the economic murder of the traders of Jammu Kashmir at both sides of the LoC through such hostile actions of suspension of the cross-LoC trade by New Delhi under the baseless and unfounded allegations against Pakistan.
Unveiling the second phase of their street protest, the furious Kashmiri trader leaders announced that identical protest demonstrations would be staged by the cross-LoC business community of AJK in front of Indian High Commission in Islamabad besides in various other parts of the world if the cross-LoC trade was not restored by India immediately.
The speakers declared that none of the international laws could stop the divided Jammu Kashmir people from either side of the LoC and rest of the world to meet each other or to exercise the cross-LoC trade between the two sides of the State. “Any forced move to keep the Kashmiris away of each other is the blatant violation of basic human rights as enshrined in the International laws and commitments”, they concluded.
