More cross-LoC links

The Chief Minister has announced an ambitious plan of opening many more cross-LoC links in future so that trade, tourism, human interaction and confidence building aims and objects can be realised. Speaking in the Legislative Council, the Chief Minister said that she was determined to give practical shape to the dreams of her late father who nursed the hope that two parts of the divided state will one day establish cordial and fraternal relations and leave behind the years of acrimony, suspicion and disappointment.
It is true that the cease fire that came into force between Indian and Pakistani troops on the midnight of January 1, 1949 divided large number of families for no fault of theirs. If Pakistan had not abetted tribal incursion into the State in October 1947, the State would not have been divided and the misery that visited the innocent people on both sides of the dividing line would never have happened. Six decades of estrangement, suspicion and mistrust created a deep chasm and instead of bringing the divided people together, they remained distanced and separated. This situation has been painful for people on both sides of the cease fire line.
With the passage of time, there has been re-thinking on both sides of the dividing line. As the two neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan cannot afford to be at loggerheads for all the times to come, moves have to be made to break the ice and find out a solution that would be just for both the peoples. However, since both the countries are claiming Kashmir, and the tangle has remained unresolved all these years, it has dawned upon the leadership on both sides that the dispute notwithstanding, confidence building measure could be taken to mitigate the suffering and separation of affected families.
2008 was   memorable year in the history of Indo-Pak relations. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India, flagged off the first bus carrying passengers to the cross-LoC point at Salamabad in Uri, where it crossed over to PoK. The second crossing point was opened at Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch. This was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of estranged peoples on both sides of the line. However, it could be called only an experiment and both sides sat down to watch how far the exercise would become successful. Eight years have passed by and the movement of people and goods across these two points has shown steady increase. Despite some hiccups, which are not really surprising and obstructionist, the authorities on both sides met to resolve the bottlenecks. In this way, good sense prevailed on both sides and crossing of goods and human beings became smooth and hassle free. The quantum of trade between the two sides increased year after year and an atmosphere of confidence and trust began to prevail.
An important take from this exercise was and remains that the mistrust created by propagandists and self serving elements proved false and people on both sides began to understand the ground realities, which were quite different from what was being fed. This is perhaps the most satisfying benefit that has accrued from the adventurous step taken by both sides.
Drawing inspiration from the encouraging results of two check posts which have been functional for last eight years, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wants to move further and expand the scope of bilateral communication by opening more cross-LoC points which have remained frozen ever since the cease fire in 1949. Among the identifiable points are Suchetgarh-Sialkote, Kargil-Skardu, Nowshera-Mirpur, Gurez-Astoor-Gilgit, Chhamb-Jourian and some other cross-LoC routes. These routes were fairly in use in pre-Pakistani attack on the State in 1947. The routes like Kargil – Skardu and Gurez-Astor-Gilgit connected the State of Jammu and Kashmir with Central Asia and these formed the arteries of the famous Silk Road of medieval times. There is every justification in re-opening these routes now when we have found that the exercise has been fruitful.
The basic philosophy of opening these linkages it to give boost to economic activity in these far-flung areas and bring about a healthy change in the quality of life of the people who would use these routes for trade and commerce. We should remember that the contemporary times are heading towards trade and commerce which is becoming a force bringing various peoples together. We would even suggest that the ancient main route that connected the State with Central Asia and the Silk Road is across the Shahidullah Pass reaching Yarkand. It is to be reminded that at one point of time, the Dogra army in the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh had crossed the Shahidullah Pass and encamped in Yarkand when the British demanded their withdrawal.
Re-opening of these roads will give great boost to trade and commerce. It will bring the peoples of the regions closer and joint development projects can be envisaged. At the same time, this step would lead to the boosting of tourism in all the regions of the State. The Chief Minister lay emphasis on border tourism and wants that Suchetgarh should become the second Wagah. That is a fantastic idea and if it becomes a reality, it will bring about sea change in our relations with PoK and Pakistan as well. She has already talked to the central leadership and feels that she has been able to convince them about the benefits of such a step.
It is very encouraging to know that the Reserve Bank of India has agreed in principle to take steps towards converting the present barter trade system into international trade system in which banking element will perform the role and the transactions will be carried out in dollar currency. Also many more facilities are added to make smooth conduct of trade possible. The CM has a vision and perhaps no better method of rebuilding confidence among the people can be found that making free movement across these links possible for more and more people. Although limited items are being traded at present, it is expected that with improvement of trading conditions more items will be added. In this way, the purpose of confidence building measures will be achieve.

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