Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, July 18: A day before the meeting of India-Pakistan Working Group on Cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in Islamabad, 100 cross-LoC traders from two parts of divided State met today at zero line at Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch district to discuss their demands and sort out the pending issues. Fifty-one traders from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and 49 from Jammu including twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch participated in the meeting held under the supervision of Trade Facilitation authorities of both sides at zero line. The PoK traders hosted the meeting, which sorted out several long pending issues among the businessmen of two parts of divided State. The meeting also prepared a charter of demands to be submitted to their respective Governments to boost the cross-LoC dying trade. The meeting assumed significance as India-Pakistan Working Group on Cross-LoC CBMs is meeting in Islamabad tomorrow. The Indian side at the talks will be led by Y K Sinha, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry while the Pakistani delegation will be headed by Zehra Akbari, Director General (South Asia) in the Foreign Ministry. The meeting would discuss cross-LoC CBMs to boost the trade between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Sources said the traders of both sides noted that trade on Poonch-Rawlakote route at the verge of dying as it has been reduced to just three or five trucks a day as against the entitlement of 25 trucks a day from each side. “The items the traders want from both the sides were not being allowed for import-export, which was the major reason for declining trends in the trade notwithstanding the increase in number of days (of the cross-LoC trade) from two days a week to four days”, the traders observed. They demanded that numbers of the tradable items should be increased to boost the trade, which was decreasing day by day. The traders hoped that the Indo-Pak officials would take some positive steps to revive cross-LoC trade or, otherwise, the day was not far when it would be completely finished in the absence of tradable items. In the recently held first ever meeting of cross-LoC traders from both sides in Srinagar last week, the traders had decided to prepare a negative list of the items and submit them to respective Indian and Pakistani Governments. They had stated that barring negative items, trade on cross-LoC routes of Poonch-Rawlakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad should be allowed on all other items. Sources said the traders of two sides settled their financial disputes during the meeting including the old pending issues. Pawan Anand, president and Krishan Singh, general secretary led the traders’ delegation from Jammu while Akhter Hussain Shah, president and Hafiz Malik, general secretary headed the delegation from PoK. Prem Kumar, Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO), Poonch and Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Custodian of Trade, Poonch and Raja Arshad Mehmood, TFO Hajeera, PoK were present at Chakan-Da-Bagh during meeting of the traders.