Cross-LoC trade suspension: AJK traders hold protest against India

MIRPUR: Hundreds of traders hailing from various parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) engaged in the cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade took to the streets on Monday against the recent unilateral decision of India to suspend the trade for an indefinite period under the bogey of absolutely baseless and unfounded allegations.The cross-LoC trade between the two sides was started through Muzaffarabad-Srinagar and Rawalakot-Poonch routes in October, 2008 under the barter system.The furious protesters took out a big procession from Central Press Club and marched to the Muzaffarabad-based office of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) where they handed over a memorandum containing the demands, including early resumption of the bilateral cross-LoC trade between the two sides.Vehicular traffic at Domeil, the meeting point of the Jhelum and Neelam rivers at the historic Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road, remained suspended during the protest against the hostile act of India suspending the cross-LoC trade from April 18 for an indefinite period while levelling baseless charges against Pakistan.Addressing the protesters near the UNMOGIP office, their leaders called upon the United Nations as well as international community and human rights organisations to take immediate notice of the unilateral suspension of the cross-LoC trade by India and play their due role in this regard.The speakers made it clear to India that they would not ever accept the economic murder of the traders of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the LoC through such hostile action of suspension of the trade by New Delhi under the baseless and unfounded allegations against Pakistan.They announced that in the second phase identical protest demonstrations would be staged by the AJK business community in front of Indian High Commission in Islamabad and in various parts of the world if the cross-LoC trade was not restored by India immediately.

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