KL Report
SRINAGAR
On Wednesday when the cross-LoC barter resumed after 40 days, it created another interesting story. While the four trucks from PaK reached Slamabad and were unloaded, the 22 trucks that went with a lot of stuff reached Chakothi and returned untouched!
Traders said the reason for returning the convoy was harsh physical check to the cargo to which the PaK traders resisted. It created a situation that they said it is better to return the cargo rather than incurring massive losses because of ruthless frisking.
Officials on both the sides are engaged in a sort of cold war since January 16 when 113 packets of brown sugar from a Pak driver led to the crisis. But the officials seems to be fighting the battle at the cost of the trade from both sides. Traders on this side of the divide also witnessed harsh checking of the in-coming and outgoing cargo but somehow they seem to have prevailed upon the officials. It is now the turn of Islamabad.
Traders told Kashmir Life they hope to resume barter on Thursday. There is no meeting planned between the two sides, however.
