Intra-Kashmir traders call off protest after assurance

Intra-Kashmir traders called off their protest on its eighth day on Thursday, after an influential member of the Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) cabinet assured them that their problem would be addressed within one month.

Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, minister for education, gave this assurance to the protesting traders at their camp along Bank Road in the afternoon. 

   

“Your issue will be resolved within one month and during this period your vehicles and goods will not be confiscated and auctioned by the customs authorities,” he told the traders, who have been on a protest against the “belligerent” attitude of Pakistan customs since Thursday last.  

Welcoming his assurance, though with a pinch of salt, the traders announced to “defer” their protest for one month.  

However, they made it clear that if the customs authorities reverted to old practice, they would widen their protest by parking their trucks at Kohala and Azad Pattan bridges, which connect the PaK territory with Pakistan.  

Gillani had also visited the traders on Tuesday night to satisfy them that the AJK government was alive to their problem and would leave no stone unturned to get it resolved amicably. 

Separately, PaK Travel and Trade Authority Director General Brig retired Tahir Hameed Malik told Greater Kashmir that the [PaK] government would shortly convene a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the issues affecting the intra-Kashmir trade. 

“We are quite hopeful of finding an amicable solution to the issues the trade is facing,” he said. 

To a question, Malik said closure of trade was not in the interest of any party for different reasons, including its serious political implications. 

“However, it is believed that so far this trade has been benefitting only a handful of traders. Whereas we want to develop it on such lines that it turns out to be beneficial not just for the traders but the common Kashmiris as well,” he said. 

He said the upcoming meeting would look into all aspects of the activity, such as increasing the volume of trade and establishing wholesale markets within the PaK territory. 

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