Centre had agreed to restore five telephone links across LoC for making trade transactions smoother and simpler, J&K minister for finance Abdul Rahim Rather said.
Call it mother of all confidence-building measures. Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) will soon have a direct phone link with Pakistan, for the first time in 20 years.
“Five landline booths will be set up and one will be able to make calls to Pakistan. This has been in principle agreed on by the Centre and the announcement will be made any time now.
Everything [including security] has been taken into consideration,”
Abdul Rahim Rather, J&K minister for finance and planning, said.
Calls — even on mobile — from J&K to Pakistan have been barred for the past two decades owing to the security situation in the state. The cross-LoC trade started in October 2008 has been badly affected — it is in fact run on a barter system — because there are no banking facilities and communication systems in place.
“Special phone lines have been authorised for reliable communication between traders. I made the commitment in the budget itself. One will be able to make calls freely,” Rather said.
The basic aim of the direct phone link is to boost cross-LoC trade.
“A new trade policy is being formulated for which a committee comprising government officers and representatives of trade and commerce has been constituted. Proposals have been sent to the Centre for approval and funds are being raised for creation of infrastructure to promote cross-LoC trade,” Rather said.
The association of cross-LoC traders said the move will make business more competitive. “Traders in PoK [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] owe more than Rs1.5 crore to us. We suffer because of non-availability of communication lines. Had phone lines been active, we would have confirmed rates before placing orders,” Rajiv Tandon, former president of the association, said.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) also welcomed the move. “This will go a long way in boosting trade,” Abdul Hamid Punjabi, senior vice-president of KCCI, said.
The decision came 15 days after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti met Union home minister P Chidambaram and sought better facilities for traders. “The Union home minister assured Mehbooba Mufti that steps would be taken to streamline cross-LoC trade,” a PDP spokesman said.
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