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After years of discussions, India and Pakistan are finally set toloosen the restrictions that have long curtailed travel between thetwo countries, but Kashmiris are unhappy that travel and tradebetween the two sides of the divided State remain uncertain despitethe specific measures that were implemented to enable both. When the Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan meet in Islamabadon Thursday and Friday, the agenda before them includes the likelysigning of a new, more liberal visa agreement geared towardsincreasing bilateral trade. Under the new agreement, businessmen may look forward to multipleentry visas valid for a year that will allow them to visit fivecities instead of just three. They would also be exempt fromreporting their arrival and departure to the police in the citiesthey visit. The new visa regime may also exempt elderly visitorsfrom police reporting. The India-Pakistan travel regime will still remain the only one inthe world that gives travellers city visas instead of countryvisas, and that has no provision for tourists, but in the contextof India-Pakistan ties, the new agreement is seen as nothing shortof revolutionary. Indian industry is looking forward to the liberalisation of travelbetween the two countries. In a statement, one of the top threechambers of commerce in the country, PHD Chamber, came out stronglyin support of the initiative, predicting it would yield"viable benefits" for both countries that already enjoythe advantages of geographical proximity, and bonds of language andculture. "This will play a vital role in fostering closer economicrelations between India and Pakistan," it said. The new visa regime is expected to help push up bilateral trade.Pakistan accounts for 0.43 per cent of India's trade, but much moreis traded between the two countries through unofficial channels,and third countries such as Dubai. It is an irony, though, that as travel and trade between India andPakistan are set to become somewhat easier, cross-Line of Controltravel between the two sides of Kashmir, one of the earliestconfidence building measures inaugurated by the two countries afterthey began talking in 2004, and trade, which was allowed from 2008,are still mired in ambiguity. Traders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who have applied for permitsto visit the Valley are being told by officials on their side thatthe cross-LoC bus service is meant only for divided Kashmirifamilies. The cross-LoC bus agreement of 2005 does not specify that theservice is meant only for divided families, though when it wasfirst flagged off, members of such families got priority. Since April 2005 when cross-LoC travel opened until February 24this year, a total of 18,782 Kashmiris used the facility, accordingto a report jointly prepared by the Jammu-based Indus ResearchFoundation and the Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms inMirpur. It is easiest for people in PoK wishing to travel to Srinagar totake the cross-LoC bus than make the trip through the Wagah border,but most businessmen are not from divided families. On the Indianside, the facility appears to be available to all permanentresidents of J & K, whether or not from divided families. "It is a matter of concern that so many years have passedsince the facility was made available to the people of Kashmir, butthe two governments have totally divergent views about what thisfacility is and who it is meant for," said Sushobha Barve,executive director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Dialogue andReconciliation. Not just traders, but academics, students and women from PoK wantedto visit Srinagar for exchanges with people in the Valley, Ms.Barve said, but it was proving to be an uphill task for them toobtain permits. Ershad Mahmud, a Rawalpindi-based Kashmir analyst, said thedecision taken last July at the Foreign Minister-level to allowtravel across the two Kashmirs for tourism and pilgrimage had notmaterialised till date. Kashmiri businessmen are also puzzled that over the past year,several of the more profitable items that could be traded betweenthe two sides have been taken off the list of commodities on whichcross-LoC trade is permissible. These include garlic, pulses andfresh fruits, and most recently, bananas. Besides, trade is stillon a barter system and communication facilities are negligible. (With inputs from Nirupama Subramanian). We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Natural Herbal Extract , Flavor Additives for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Food Additives Preservatives.
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