Kartarpur corridor will boost Indo-pak biz ties: Chief secy

AMRITSAR : Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh Brar said here on Saturday that the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, being constructed by India and Pakistan, will not only improve religious relations between the two countries, but will also boost business ties,” Brar said while interacting with organisers of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) here.

The five-day shopping and business fair, which is an attempt to boost bilateral trade between India and Pakistan, is being organised by the Punjab chapter of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). The fair started on December 6 and will last up to December 10.

Brar said, “The Punjab government wants to improve ties with Pakistan to improve trade between the two countries. The PITEX will prove a milestone for the promotion of the trade from Punjab”

Brar said, “The Union government had set up an integrated check post (ICP) at Attari, but it has been facing the problem of traffic for long. We are now expanding the area of the ICP, besides providing more warehousing facilities there. Work on this has already been started.”

He said the Punjab government had written to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) for political clearance, mandatory to grant visas, for around 400 Pakistani traders and visitors to the PITEX.

But, the plea of the state government was declined by the MEA.

Hence, the PITEX, which had been witnessing 35-40 stalls of Pakistani traders till 2015, now has only five stalls of Pakistani traders, who have SAARC visas.

Deputy commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha welcomed the chief secretary to the expo.

RS Sachdeva , chairman of the PHDCCI, said that the PITEX is being expanded every year with the assistance of the state government.