Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 30: Authorities have sought a meeting with officials of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Thursday to discuss resuming of cross-LoC travel and trade via the Poonch-Rawlakote road, which remained suspended for 17th consecutive week today in view of continued ceasefire violations by Pakistan army on the Line of Control (LoC) in border districts of Poonch and Rajouri including Chakan-Da-Bagh area from where the weekly LoC bus and trade trucks used to cross over to PoK.
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“We have requested PoK officials – via the Government – for a meeting on November 2 to decide on resuming the cross- LoC travel and trade via the Poonch-Rawlakote road,” Custodian of the cross-LoC trade (Poonch), Mohammad Tanveer, said.
Tanveer said a response from PoK authorities was awaited.
Since July 10, no bus has crossed the LoC via the Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point on the route.
India and Pakistan have engaged in one of the worst border skirmishes along the LoC this year. Pakistan violated ceasefire with India more than 600 times till September 30, the highest in the past decade.
The cross-LoC bus service on the Poonch-Rawlakote road between Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) remained suspended for the 17th week today due to ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
The bus service was suspended on July 10 due to heavy firing and shelling from the Pakistani side. Since then, no bus has crossed the Line of Control from Chakan-Da-Bagh.
“The Poonch-Rawlakote cross-LoC bus service remained suspended even today. It has been shut for the last 17 weeks now,” Mohammad Tanveer said.
The cross-LoC trade between two parts of divided State i.e. J&K and PoK will also remain suspended this week, sources said. The trade used to take place four days a week from Tuesday to Friday.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA), which has been proving terror funding and hawala operations in Jammu and Kashmir has already recommended to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for suspending cross-LoC trade due to its misuse by some traders for funding terrorism and unrest in the Kashmir valley.
UNI adds from Srinagar:
Only one new guest from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived in Srinagar while four Kashmiris crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in the weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.
Twenty people also returned to their sides at the Kaman Post, in Uri sector, sources said.
They said only one resident of PoK arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947 due to partition.
However, there was no returnee in the bus which came from PoK.
The number of guests coming here from PoK goes down during winter months while it increases during summer when weather is pleasant in Kashmir. On the contrary, the number of people going to PoK in the peace bus goes down in summer and increases in winter.
Meanwhile, four Kashmiris, including a woman and a child, crossed over to the other side of LoC.
Twenty PoK residents, including eight women and four children, who had arrived in previous buses to meet their relatives, returned to their homes after completing their stay here, they added.
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