Islamabad, October 30
India and Pakistan have agreed to open five points along the Line of Control (LOC) for people to cross and ferry relief and reconstruction materials for earthquake victims from November 7. But they failed to reach an understanding to permit affected people in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) to avail of benefits at Indian relief camps.
Billed as a historic breakthrough, a joint statement issued at the end of talks in the wee hours here was the second major initiative by both countries to soften the LOC after this year’s agreement to run a bus service between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad without passports and visas.
The points to be opened for crossings along the LoC are Nauseri-Tithwal, Chakoti-Uri, Hajipir-Uri, Rawalakot-Poonch and Tattapani-Mendhar. The applications will be cleared preferably within 10 days.
“It was agreed that because of non-availability of or damage to infrastructure at these points, crossings across the LoC would be permitted on foot,” the joint statement said.
“This could as well help efforts being made by both countries to open trade routes connecting both sides,” said an Indian official, who attended the talks headed by Mr Dilip Sinha, Joint Secretary of Indian External Affairs Ministry, and Mr Syed Ibne Abbas, Director-General (South Asia), in Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
The two sides, however, failed to reach an agreement on the Indian proposal to permit quake-affected people living close to LOC to avail of facilities at relief camps as all major routes from Pakistan and POK Capital, Muzaffarabad were blocked by landslides.
Significantly, the joint statement said the same parameters and procedures being followed for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service would be applied for permitting people to cross the divide.
Technically, it meant that Indians and Pakistanis, besides Kashmiris, could avail of the facility. But Pakistan later insisted that the facility was only meant for Kashmiris.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said even though it was not mentioned in the joint statement, the facility was only for Kashmiris. “Yes it is not mentioned. But it is only for Kashmiris,” she clarified today.
— PTI
