By IANS,
Jammu : India and Pakistan should take steps to augment the cross-border trade between the two countries in Jammu and Kashmir, an industry lobby said Wednesday.
Though the trade across the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border in the state – is picking up, there was “an urgent need to redress the long identified problems”, Ram Sahai, president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told the media.
He said only 21 items were being traded across the LoC since the business ties between the two parts of the state, divided between India and Pakistan, began last October.
The industry lobby is demanding that more items be included in the trading list.
Sahai said “proper banking service” should be launched to back up the trade.
The cross-LoC trade, conducted just twice a week, should be allowed daily, he said.
A traders’ delegation from Jammu and Kashmir is visiting Pakistan-administered Kashmir from June 1 to 6. Last year, Pakistani Kashmir traders visited Srinagar and Jammu for discussions with their counterparts on improving the trade ties.