New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today gave shocking reasons to why India abruptly ended the Line of Control (LoC) trade with Pakistan. The trade was intended to be confidence-building measures for the population living in remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir and those living across the LoC.
Officials in MHA said that the trade route was misused by terrorists to channel funds and arms, transport drugs and pump fake notes into Jammu and Kashmir, and infiltrate third-party goods.
India had no other options but to stop the trade over LoC to prevent such malicious acts by terrorists in the guise of trading.
MHA officials said, “The charge sheeting of businessman Zahoo Ahmed Watali, who was president of LoC traders association, established the fact that how money was being channelized to terrorists, separatists, and subversive elements in the valley.”
It is worth noting that the Enforcement Directorate has already attached his property worth crores.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found that hawala transactions are done to fund terror activities through these trade routes. The terror outfits identify a Pakistani trader and hand his money to be transferred to those inimical parties in India.
The Pakistani trader uses third party uses goods like Californian almonds and under invoices their price less than what is given to them by the Pakistani terrorists. He then sells these almonds at the market price and gets the profit. This extra money is then funnelled into terror activities in India.
The NIA has revealed that most firms engaged in LoC trade are operated by people related to terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
Officials in Ministry of Home Affairs have also said that these trade routes are used extensively to smuggle cocaine, brown sugar, and heroin into Jammu and Kashmir, thereby turning the youth of the Valley addicted to these strong drugs. The MHA said that recently 66.5 kg of heroin was seized which smuggled through LoC trade.
Another serious concern was pumping of fake currency into India. Consignments of Rs. 57 lakh, Rs. 20 lakh, Rs. 15 lakh, and Rs. 7 lakh were confiscated by security agencies which point to the danger of LoC trade being misused.
The trade was allowed through two trade facilitation centers located at Salamabad in Uri district and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Poonch district. The trade took place for four days in a week.
