Drug haul hits IndoPak border barter
Kashmir police busts heroin worth ₹300 cr, arrests truck driver, prompts Pak govt to snap exchange unless accused is released
SRINAGAR: A drug bust resulting in the seizure of about 66 kg of heroin worth an estimated ₹300 cr ore has disrupted the India-Pakistan border trade operated wholly on a bart er system since 2008 between the two neighbours.
Police in Kashmir recovered the huge st ash of heroin from the cavity of a truck coming from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and bound for Salamabad on the Indian side. The driver was arrested and the truck seized, prompting both countries to cease the barter trade across the Line of Control (LoC).
India, however, has resumed the trade since August 8 and is continuing to send some trucks laden with goods across the border. Pakistan though has stopped reciprocating, demanding that the driver be freed immediately. On Friday, nearly a month after trade ceased, Pakistan sent a jeep carrying goods more as a tokenism. Indian traders sending trucks across are hoping that Pakistan will relent and start sending the goods in exchange.
The barter trade in which no money changes hand but only goods are exchanged by local son either side has been a unique initiative in force since 2008 as a key confidence building measure between the neighbours.
Thetradetook placefourdays a week at two places: One on a route connecting Uri in India to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan and the other linking India’s Poonch to Pakistan’s Rawalakot.
Indian officials, however, are pushing for an early resumption of the trade. “From our side, we are committed to continuing the cross-Lo C trade, which is aC BM, within the parameter sofa proper security system. As far as the case of the arrested driver is concerned, it will reach its logical conclusion through a trial,” said Sagar D Doifode, Uri SDM and cross-border trade custodian.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has also strongly argued for restarting the barter trade. “There are many difficulties through the Wagah border… charas and ganja come from there but no one talks about closing it. Just because a mistake happens on the Uri-Muzaffarabad road, we should not talk about closing it. We will not allow that to happen ,” she said at a rally in Srinagar recently. She said there should be proper banking facilities and scanners at the check-points to facilitate the trade.
State director general of police, SP Vaid, has also called for stricter precautions to be put in place to prevent the barter trade from being mis used by unscrupulous elements.
“Full body truck scanners are to be installed soon and efforts are on to implement other security measures,” he said.
Indian authorities, meanwhile, have barred Pakistanbased trader Anjum Zaman and 34 firms owned by him from participating in the barter trade here after. The truck carrying the drugs was part of a consignment sent by a company owned by Zaman.
Hilal Turkie, president of the Salamabad cross-LoC traders’ union and a trader himself, said bringing transparency and better monitoring were key to securing the barter trade, under which a trader from the Indian side “exports’ an item worth a certain amount across the LoC and his counterpart there sends back goods worth an equal amount.