Chidambaram has offered to streamline cross LoC trade: PDP

The PDP today said Union home minister P Chidambaram has assured the party leadership of taking steps to streamline the cross LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir.
   
The assurance came during a meeting between Chidambaram and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in New Delhi. It was also assured that adequate banking facilities would be set up to facilitate trade, a PDP release said here.
    
Mehbooba brought to the notice of home minister the bottlenecks in trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakote routes. The trade was begun in 2008 during the Congress-PDP government.
    
Chidambaram also said steps would be taken for creating infrastructure facilities at trade centers of Salamabad in Uri sector of Baramulla and Ranger in Poonch district of Jammu province, the release claimed.

"The PDP president and the home minister reviewed the over all situation in the state," it said.

She said the divided families, whose plight had prompted the previous government to reopen the traditional routes, continued to suffer separation and the bus service which had been started with lots of hope was becoming less and less popular.

She told the home minister that many Kashmiris were being denied passports on flimsy grounds. "This issue needs to be addressed by the Home Ministry," the release said quoting Mehbooba.