SRINAGAR: Two years after business activities were halted by India in the town of Uri, close to the border with Pakistan, Kashmiris and traders on Saturday called for the resumption of cross-border trade.
They highlighed the plight of nearly 170,000 villagers whose lives had been upended by the economic crisis in the region.
“After trade stopped in 2019, markets in Uri are badly affected, and they are on the verge of permanent closure,” Tahir Ahmad Khan, a trader in Uri, a connecting point in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, told Arab News.
In April 2019, New Delhi abruptly halted all trading activity in the area, citing “illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency” as reasons for its clampdown.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also suggested that the trade was “misused to fund militancy and separatism” in the volatile region of Jammu and Kashmir.
It led to the suspension of an ambitious economic engagement between the two countries, launched in 2008 when trade routes were opened along the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that separates India and Pakistan.
The move was part of measures to ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and served as a boon for its residents, most of whom worked as traders, laborers and drivers.
Today, most are grappling with an “existential crisis,” while three laborers have reportedly committed suicide.
“When the trade was happening, a laborer would earn at least 25,000 rupees ($350) a month, but today they are struggling to survive. Three laborers have committed suicide so far,” Lateef Awan, a labor contractor in Uri, told Arab News.
After launching trade routes in 2008, India and Pakistan had approved 21 items for cross-border trade, including medicinal herbs, honey, dried fruits, Peshawari leather sandals, onions and black mushrooms.
No duty was charged at the border.
For four days a week, nearly 70 trucks would use the crossing along two trade routes — the Chakan-Da-Bagh-Rawalakot route in Jammu or the Salamabad-Chokoti route in the Kashmir region — with the Salamabad trade facilitation center in Uri serving as the hub of activities where trucks from Pakistan would be unloaded.
“More than 100 laborers were working under me in Uri’s Salamabad. Today, they don’t have any work; their children no longer go to school. It’s a very sad state of affairs,” Awan said.
Mohammad Maqbool Awan, a 40-year-old trader, said that he used to earn at least $300 per month earlier but today survives on the “doles handed out by traders and others.”
“There is no work, no income. All four of my children are at home because I can’t afford their schooling. With trade gone, our lifeline has also disappeared,” Maqbool told Arab News.
“Trade should be resumed again for the larger interests of the people. But I feel that the government in Delhi is not keen to serve the interests of the people of Kashmir,” he said.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. Both claim it in full and rule it in part and have fought two of their three wars over control of the region since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. On Sunday, India marks its 75th Independence Day.
Ties between Islamabad and New Delhi nose-dived on Aug. 5, 2019, when the Indian government revoked the special status of Kashmir by repealing the constitution’s Article 370, which granted autonomy to the region.
In February, both the countries agreed to adhere to a 2003 cease-fire agreement along the disputed border in Kashmir, but there have been no developments in the resumption of economic activities in the area.
“Whatever little hoped we nurtured about the start of the trade was dashed after the Aug. 5 development that brought more hardship. By abrogating Kashmir’s special status, New Delhi has made life more difficult for us,” Maqbool said.
The value of cross-border trade reached 7,500 crore rupees ($1.127 billion) between 2008 and 2019, according to a report released by the Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF) in New Delhi last year.
Trading activities generated freight revenue of about 66.4 crores rupees ($10 million) for transporters in Jammu and Kashmir, while more than 300 traders were involved in the business employing more than 150,000 people.
Sami Ullah Bhat, a trader based in the capital Srinagar, is among hundreds who incurred heavy losses after the trade suspension.
“They closed the trade abruptly without any notice or information. As a result, lots of overdue amounts remained across the border,” Bhat, who is also the vice president of the Salamabad Cross-LoC Traders Union, told Arab News.
“We have become bankrupt. Some have sold off their gold, others have taken loans, they got disturbed after the suspension of the LoC trade,” said Bhat, who incurred a loss of more than $80,000.
He added that Kashmir’s economy had “suffered more” due to the trade closure.
“This trade was helping not only traders but the common people by providing employment. Every trader would employ at least five people while tradeable items used to be distributed across Kashmir. Prices of essential commodities were never high,” Bhat said.
It is a sentiment echoed by Tariq Khan, a trader who suffered losses amounting to $90,000 after trade stopped.
“Not only Kashmir suffered, but the traders in rest of India also suffered losses. We used to get spices from south India and send them across the border. It was a good business,” Khan, former president of the Salamabad Cross-LoC Traders Union, told Arab News.
Others said that the resumption of trade would help to maintain a cease-fire along the India-Pakistan border.
“Kashmiris want that both the nations should talk and find a way to solve the problem. Each and every Kashmiri wants that. Opening the trade is a must. It is a must for peace,” Bhat said.
On India’s 75th Independence Day, Kashmiris yearn for resumption of cross-border trade
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On India’s 75th Independence Day, Kashmiris yearn for resumption of cross-border trade
- They highlighed the plight of villagers whose lives have been upended by the economic crisis in the region
- In April 2019, New Delhi abruptly halted all trading activity in the area
French police cordon off Iran consulate in Paris: security source
PARIS: French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday and were preparing to enter it at the consulate’s request, after a report that someone had come in with an explosive, a police source said.
“A witness saw a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt,” the source said, adding that an elite police unit had been mobilized after the consulate requested an intervention.
French police cordon off Iran consulate in Paris: security source
- Police preparing to enter property at the consulate’s request
PARIS: French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday and were preparing to enter it at the consulate’s request, after a report that someone had come in with an explosive, a police source said.
“A witness saw a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt,” the source said, adding that an elite police unit had been mobilized after the consulate requested an intervention.
Blinken says US ‘not involved in any offensive operation’
- ‘All I can say is for our part and for all the members of the G7 our focus is on de-escalation’
CAPRI, Italy: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday refused to comment on reports of an attack by Israel on Iran, beyond saying Washington was “not involved in any offensive operation.”
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with G7 counterparts in Italy, he declined to answer repeated questions about explosions in Iran, and reports that Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes.
“I’m not going to speak to these reported events... All I can say is for our part and for all the members of the G7 our focus is on de-escalation,” Blinken told a press conference on the island of Capri.
“The US has not been involved in any offensive operation,” he said.
Speaking to reporters earlier, G7 host Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister of Italy, said Washington had been informed in advance of the strikes, without giving details.
“The United States were informed at the last moment,” he said, adding that “it was just information” passed on — without saying who by.
The reports dominated the G7 Friday, with Tajani forced to change the agenda, but little public information emerged.
In its final statement, the Group of Seven ministers said: “In light of reports of strikes on April 19th, we urge all parties to work to prevent further escalation. The G7 will continue to work to this end.”
Israel had warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel almost a week ago, in retaliation for a deadly strike — which Tehran blamed on its foe — that levelled Iran’s consular annex at its embassy in Syria.
Indians head to the polls in world’s biggest election
- Polling takes place in phases over the next six weeks, with results expected on June 4
- Over 968 million people are registered to vote, with 168.6 million casting ballots on Friday
NEW DELHI: Indian voters headed to the polls on Friday for the first phase of the world’s biggest general election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming for a rare third consecutive term.
More than 968 million people are registered to vote, with polling taking place over the next six weeks, as results are expected on June 4.
After April 19, the other voting dates will be April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, with some states completing the process on a single day, and others having it spread out in several phases.
Friday’s polling was held in 21 states and union territories, including the most populous ones such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, as well as smaller northeastern states and the northern Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Kashmir, this is the first election since its special autonomous status and statehood were scrapped through the Indian government’s controversial constitutional amendment in 2019.
Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar told reporters on Friday that 168.6 million people were expected to cast their ballots on Friday.
“The preparations started, actually, two years back. Wide range of preparations … It’s a tremendous exercise,” he said.
MAIN CONTENDERS
More than 2,600 political parties are registered in the marathon election and 543 contested seats in the lower house of Parliament. The party or coalition that wins at least 272 is going to form the government.
Modi is targeting 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance led by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power since 2014.
He is challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, led by the Congress Party, which has ruled the country for close to 45 years since its independence in 1947.
The key leader of the opposition coalition is Rahul Gandhi — the son of Rajiv Gandhi, a grandson of Indira Gandhi, and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, all of whom served as prime ministers of India.
While the opposition is trying to appeal to Indian youth with promises to tackle unemployment, free education and medical facilities, the BJP has deployed the same tactics as in previous polls — by mobilizing voters through majoritarian Hindu sentiment, despite constitutional provisions that make it a secular state.
Opinion polls show Modi as frontrunner, with 48 percent of respondents in the most recent survey released by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies last week naming him as their choice for the prime minister. Gandhi was second, preferred by 27 percent.
“Modi has created an image of a powerful leader, a leader who is not only popular in India but outside too. He has also created an image of not pandering to Muslim communities in India … This image of a leader who does not appease the Muslim sentiments appeals to the Hindu masses. Politics of polarization helps Modi to build an image and aura among a large section of the Hindu voters,” Prof. Venkat Narayan, political analyst and commentator, told Arab News.
“Then the use of social media and the mainstream media is also there to create an image and broaden Modi’s appeal. The media plays a great role in creating this image, they are soft towards Modi and do not ask critical questions.”
If Modi wins the election, he will become the second prime minister, after Nehru, to succeed in three consecutive polls.
“Modi is leading in the polls as he has created an image of doing a lot for different sections of the society. Besides, he projects himself as squeaky clean. People also think that as he has no children, he has no reason to be corrupt or be on the take,” Sanjay Kapoor, analyst and editor of the English-language political magazine Hardnews, told Arab News.
“There are other reasons for his popularity, which include adroit use of media and social media that control all criticism against him. Then there are issues of raising India’s global profile and pursuing an independent foreign policy.”
FUTURE FOREIGN POLICY
Whoever wins the election, the foreign policy direction is likely to remain broadly unchanged, except for India’s orientation toward Israel and Palestine.
Support for Palestine and Palestinian statehood was once an integral part of India’s foreign policy, but in recent years, under Modi’s rule, New Delhi has become closer to Tel Aviv, despite civil society protests breaking out across the country against Israel’s deadly war on Gaza.
“If the INDIA alliance comes to power, then we may see a change in our policy towards Israel and Palestine. The INDIA alliance is sympathetic to Palestinians,” Kapoor said.
“We expect that the INDIA alliance will also restore ties with neighbors like Pakistan, (and) revive SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation).”
The member states of SAARC — a regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia — are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The last biennial SAARC summit was hosted by Nepal in 2014. Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016, but it was stalled after India refused to participate, following an attack on an Indian army camp in Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
VOTERS’ CONCERNS
According to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies survey, unemployment emerged as the top concern for 27 percent of respondents.
Some 62 percent also said it has been more difficult to find a job in the last five years — during Modi’s second term in office.
“The biggest concern remains inflation and unemployment. The possibility of getting a job decreases if you study more. People are forced to leave India in search of jobs. Some have even gone as far as Russia and Israel,” Kapoor said. “The situation is really dismal.”
Rising prices and inflation were also a major issue — the top concern for 23 percent of the people surveyed by the CSDS.
“Women and the middle class are concerned about the rising prices. Modi is trying to divert attention from these main issues by talking about religion and temples,” said Shashi Shekhar Singh, associate professor at Satyawati College at the University of Delhi.
The CSDS pre-poll also revealed that despite the ruling party’s narrative promoting Hindu nationalist dominance to establish a majoritarian state in India, only 11 percent of respondents saw India as solely for Hindus.
But there were fears the reality on the ground could change if the BJP tried to amend India’s liberal and democratic constitution.
“Indian secularism and the very idea of a plural democracy is at stake,” Singh said.
“There is a fear that if the BJP comes to power with the thumping majority, the liberal and secular democracy will breathe its last. The BJP might lead the nation further down the path of a Hindu majoritarian state.”
ASEAN says ‘deeply concerned’ over escalating Myanmar violence
- ASEAN foreign ministers urge ‘all parties for an immediate cessation of violence’ in Myanmar
BANGKOK: Regional bloc ASEAN said it is “deeply concerned” about a recent upsurge in fighting in Myanmar, after fierce clashes over a key trading hub near the Thai border.
The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged “all parties for an immediate cessation of violence” in Myanmar, which has been roiled by conflict since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup.
The ministers’ statement issued late Thursday said ASEAN was “deeply concerned over the recent escalation of conflicts, including in the area of Myawaddy.”
The military was last week forced to pull its troops out of positions in the valuable trading post after days of battling with the Karen National Union (KNU) — a long-established ethnic minority armed group — and other anti-junta fighters.
It was the latest blow suffered by the junta, which has suffered a string of battlefield losses in recent months, with some analysts warning it is its most significant threat to date.
Myawaddy is Myanmar’s main trade link to Thailand, and usually sees over a billion dollars worth of trade annually.
The clashes saw people flee across the border into Thailand — from where gunfire and the boom of artillery barrages could be heard.
Thailand has said it is ready to receive people from Myanmar, though the kingdom’s foreign minister warned it would not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty.
