MUZAFFARABAD: Despite a resumption of trade activities between the divided parts of Kashmir through Chakothi-Uri crossing point since August 9, the authorities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have been unable to transport mercantile goods to the downstream markets.

The authorities feared vandalism at the hands of relatives of the drivers detained in India-held Kashmir (IHK) over alleged drug trafficking.

The relatives, along with the union of truck drivers, staged a protest and threatened to hurl bottle bombs on the trucks “daring to drive through their area” towards the markets in Punjab.

Earlier, trade was suspended on July 21 after India alleged it recovered 66.5kg heroin from one of the 14 trucks arriving from AJK. The truck was seized and its driver Yousuf Shah was arrested by the Indian authorities.

However, after an understanding between the two sides, the barter trade was resumed on August 8 and trucks from India-held Kashmir were regularly bringing goods on the designated days while a few vehicles from AJK also ferried goods to the opposite side after August 17.

The AJK authorities were now facing another problem—transportation of goods unloaded at Chakothi to the downstream markets.

Under the standard operating procedure, trucks from held Kashmir and AJK would unload their mercantile goods at Chakothi and Salamabad, respectively. From there, the items would be loaded on other vehicles for onward transportation to their respective markets.

However, the goods from India-held Kashmir could not be transported from Chakothi because relatives and union of truck drivers, who were undergoing detention in the Indian territory, had threatened to damage trucks.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2017