Indian ministry agrees to ISD facility for cross-LoC trade

Srinagar, June 27, 2014 (PPI-OT): Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to the long-pending demand of the traders of occupied Kashmir to provide them the much-needed communication (International Subscriber Dialling) facility for the trading activity.

A three-member team of the Indian Home Ministry led by Joint Secretary (Kashmir Affairs), RK Srivastava, during its visit to reviewed the cross-LoC trade and travel. It asked the authorities to send detailed proposal for incorporation of more goods items into the list approved jointly by New Delhi and Islamabad. The team assured the authorities that it would seriously pursue setting up the banking facility for trade, which is presently a barter system.

RK Srivastava along with Deputy Secretary, K Sulekha, and another official held a meeting with top officials of the occupied territory including Financial Commissioner Industries and Commerce, Khursheed Ganai, Principal Secretary (Home) Suresh Kumar, IG CID, Dr B Srinivas, and officials from BSNL and Jammu and Kashmir Bank at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar.

On the issue of setting up of the banking facility on either side of the LoC, RK Srivastava told the officials of occupied Kashmir that New Delhi has already taken up the matter with Islamabad and the Ministry would pursue the matter vigorously.

In absence of banking facility, the trade is presently a barter system wherein the traders, against the good imported or exported, receive the goods of the same value instead of dealing the business in cash.

The puppet regime of the occupied territory would also send a list of additional items to be included in the list of goods agreed by New Delhi and Islamabad when the trade was started in 2008. Meanwhile, the visiting team asked the authorities to work out the modalities for providing spot clearance for children up to five years of age to travel across the LoC.

The issues related to the multiple entry permits and triple entry permits also came up for the discussion and in this regard the authorities were asked to submit detailed proposal to Indian Home Ministry for further action.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
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