Pakistan hopeful of diplomatic solution to row
January 27, 2014
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan on Saturday remained hopeful that the continuing week-old row with India with trucks detained on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and the bus services for Kashmiris halted, will be ‘solved diplomatically’.
About 50 trucks from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) are presently parked in Indian held Kashmir as the drivers of these trucks refuse to return to AJK without their fellow drivers who have been picked up on charges of trafficking drugs and are presently in custody while investigations continue.
Since January 17, they are parked at the Salamabad trade centre in Baramulla district.
Meanwhile Pakistan says that 27 trucks which have crossed over into AJK have been detained in retaliation but the drivers are not under arrest.
When asked whether this issue, which India is treating as a ‘police case’ of alleged drug trafficking, could be solved diplomatically, spokesperson at the Foreign Office responded: “This is just one side’s allegations against the other and yes, we remain hopeful that the matter can be handled diplomatically. We are very keen that trade between Pakistan and India and intra Kashmir trade across LoC takes place smoothly”.
Earlier the spokesman at Pakistan’s High Commission had said that the detention of the truck driver is “in violation of the agreed modalities and the spirit of the Cross LoC trade”.
“Pakistan calls upon Governmentt of India to immediately take steps to resolve the matter; enabling early resumption of Cross LoC Trade and Bus Service”, he had said in a tweet. Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) in a report claimed that ‘samples of the seized contraband items were sent to the forensic lab for tests——and the lab report confirming that the contraband is brown sugar”.
AFP reported on Saturday that the truck drivers from AJK are “huddled inside a hall at the Trade Facilitation Centre in Salamabad, 115 kilometres from Indian Kashmir´s main city of Srinagar”.
Pakistan on Saturday remained hopeful that the continuing week-old row with India with trucks detained on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and the bus services for Kashmiris halted, will be ‘solved diplomatically’.
About 50 trucks from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) are presently parked in Indian held Kashmir as the drivers of these trucks refuse to return to AJK without their fellow drivers who have been picked up on charges of trafficking drugs and are presently in custody while investigations continue.
Since January 17, they are parked at the Salamabad trade centre in Baramulla district.
Meanwhile Pakistan says that 27 trucks which have crossed over into AJK have been detained in retaliation but the drivers are not under arrest.
When asked whether this issue, which India is treating as a ‘police case’ of alleged drug trafficking, could be solved diplomatically, spokesperson at the Foreign Office responded: “This is just one side’s allegations against the other and yes, we remain hopeful that the matter can be handled diplomatically. We are very keen that trade between Pakistan and India and intra Kashmir trade across LoC takes place smoothly”.
Earlier the spokesman at Pakistan’s High Commission had said that the detention of the truck driver is “in violation of the agreed modalities and the spirit of the Cross LoC trade”.
“Pakistan calls upon Governmentt of India to immediately take steps to resolve the matter; enabling early resumption of Cross LoC Trade and Bus Service”, he had said in a tweet. Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) in a report claimed that ‘samples of the seized contraband items were sent to the forensic lab for tests——and the lab report confirming that the contraband is brown sugar”.
AFP reported on Saturday that the truck drivers from AJK are “huddled inside a hall at the Trade Facilitation Centre in Salamabad, 115 kilometres from Indian Kashmir´s main city of Srinagar”.
