RailEnquiry

Amritsar: Pakistan may have stopped cross-border trade with India through Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir after the killing of two Indian soldiers, but it is business as usual between the two countries via the Attari-Wagah land route.Jaspal Singh, a leading clearing agent, said the bilateral trade was very much on and it was going on smoothly. He said the border was witnessing an import of around 100 trucks comprising dry dates, gypsum, limestone and dry fruits. Similarly, over 250 trucks of various goods, including cotton, soyabean and tomato, were crossing over to Pakistan daily, he said.“Trade with Pakistan through Attari had continued even during the Kargil War. There should not be any problem currently as well, though panic-stricken investors have been calling us from various parts of the country,” he said.Official sources in the Integrated Check Post also said the trade was going on normally. In fact, the trade activity had gained momentum in the recent past with the number of trucks crossing the border witnessing an increase, the sources said.Leading trader Rajdeep Uppal also said the bilateral trade via the Attari-Wagah land route had never been stopped even though the ties between the two countries touched a low on various occasions in the past.Khanna Paper Mill managing director Suneet Kochhar said the incident had come as a setback to the peace process. He said the trade should not be allowed to suffer and that required arrangements should be made on the security front.“As several agencies across the world were against peaceful ties between India and Pakistan, both the countries should handle the present situation with maturity,” said Kochhar, who has been exporting newsprint to Pakistan for the last few months.Apart from trade activity, the rail and road traffic between the two countries also ran normally across the Punjab border. Attari railway station official SK Madaan said the trains were arriving and leaving for Pakistan as usual without any glitch. Similarly, the two buses plying between India and Pakistan through Punjab border — New Delhi-Lahore bus and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus — continued their run like any other day.