Indian and Pakistani officials hold a meeting at the Kaman Post on the LoC in Uri sector on Thursday. Tribune photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 3

After remaining suspended for a fortnight, the cross-LoC trade on the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road will resume next week.The decision to resume the trade was taken in a joint meeting of officials from the two sides on Thursday who met at the zero point at Kaman Post on the LoC in Uri sector, 118 km from here.“The trade will resume on the Salamabad-Chakothi axis from Tuesday,” Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM), Uri, Sagar Doifode, who was a member of the delegation that held a one-hour meeting at the zero point, said.The delegation from Kashmir was led by Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla Nasir Naqash. The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir side was represented by Director General, Trans-LoC Trade Authority, Shahid Ahmad.The trade was suspended after the J&K Police seized 66.5 kg of heroin at the Salamabad trade centre at Uri from a truck coming from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on July 21.Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Mir Imtiyaz Hussain also briefed the other side about the investigation being carried by the police after the recovery of narcotics.“We also stressed for more security checks on the other side to ensure that no drugs are smuggled here. They agreed to improve the security mechanism at the trade centre at Chakothi,” the Uri SDM said.Besides, both sides have agreed to limit the number of trade trucks to 20 for some time.Cross-LoC trade and the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus services are touted as two of the biggest confidence-building measures between the two warring neighbours over Kashmir since Partition. The cross-LoC trade was launched in October 2008. Initially, the trade was allowed on two days but after 2011, it is being done for four days in a week. The trade is already on the radar of the National Investigation Agency.116 PoK citizens to returnIn all, 116 PoK citizens, who had arrived via Poonch and have been stranded on this side for over a month, will be allowed to return via Kaman Post through the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service on Monday, officials said.