An 11-member delegation from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan met civil society members from J&K on Wednesday and jointly urged India and Pakistan to “resume their dialogue and take the cross-LoC trade to the next level.”
At the meeting organised by the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR), the delegates expressed concern at the growing incidents of ceasefire violations. They commended the locals for “continuing with the cross-LoC trade” despite heightened tensions and growing civilian casualty.New Delhi and Islamabad must resume dialogue and allow “participation of all stakeholders in the resolution process.” Cross-LoC trade must be taken to a new level. “There is not only a need to include more items for trade and formalise trading through banking facility and dispute-resolving mechanism, but also to open new vistas of linkages through tourism,” they said.