LAHORE: Trade between Pakistan and India through Wagah-Attari land route could not be fully restored on Tuesday, some nine days or so after a suicide attack near the site of flag-lowering ceremony.

“Long queues of trucks can be seen on both sides of the border, waiting for trade to reopen while several items are perishing due to inordinate delay,” said Aftab Vohra, a former vice president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Condemning the Wagah suicide attack, he said trade and other issues should be dealt with separately and nothing should disrupt business activities between Pakistan and India.

He said security forces had taken appreciable measures after the Wagah incident and the mutual trade should have been fully restored like the flag-lowering ceremony.

Urging the NLC authorities to build a separate road for trade activities at Wagah border, he appealed to the authorities concerned to restore the offices of clearing agents immediately.

Vohra stressed the need for developing a joint mechanism on both sides to counter such acts. “Pakistan’s economy will be the ultimate loser in case mutual trade is not resumed immediately.”

Trade between India and Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari route came to a halt in the wake of a suicide attack at Wagah border on Nov 2.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2014