NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (APP) : Indian Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Rameshsaid on Friday said trade across the Line of Control would be initiated only after completion of general elections in Pakistan.
Talking to reporters in Amritsar, he said “the proposal for trade through LoC was discussed earlier with Pakistan but got delayed due to internal developments there. It would become a reality only after the completion of general elections in Pakistan,” he said.
The Minister said the list of trading goods had already been exchanged withPakistan to start the trade and all formalities from the Indian side were completed.
He said as per the negotiations, import and export of items would be on a reciprocal basis. The list of articles to be exported to Pakistani side of Kashmir include carpets, handicrafts, woolen shawls, wooden products, cricket bats and silk.
The Minister said a Rs. 90-crore infrastructure project for developing the Indo-Pak Attari border post would be carried out as part of a Rs 900-crore plan for 13 modern integrated check posts for trade with Saarc and neighbouring countires.
“Attari will serve as a source of trade between India and Pakistan as well as for land trade with Afghanistan and some Arab countries, media reports quotingRamesh said .
He said for the Attari project, the Union Government had accorded priority to initiate work on a “war footing” and 120 acres of land had already been acquired from farmers of border villages for this project.