Reasons by GoI to suspend of cross-LoC trade highly untenable & indefensible, Soz
TNN Bureau. Updated: 4/23/2019 5:45:11 PM
Politics
Srinagar, Apr 23 : Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to promote propaganda for 2019 Lok Sabha elections by trying to bring Pakistan, Kashmir and whatever suits his imagination, senior Congress leader and former union minister Prof Saifuddin Soz on Tuesday said reasons being given for stopping Cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade was highly untenable and indefensible.
“PM Modi wants to promote propaganda for Election 2019 and tries to bring in Pakistan, Kashmir and whatever suits his imagination”, Soz said in a statement here.
He alleged that since everything is happening at the behest of Prime Ministers Office (PMO), stopping the LOC trade between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad all of a sudden, is seen by the trading communities on both sides, as part of a trickery aimed at the Election-2019.
"PM Modi thinks this will provide grist to his propaganda mill", Prof Soz alleged.
“I checked up the reasons given by GoI such as smuggling weapons, narcotics, fake currency and others things for stopping the cross LOC trade with organizations that have firsthand knowledge on what is what on the cross LOC trade”, he said.
Prof Soz claimed that he talked to responsible functionaries of the trade associations such as ‘Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation’ and ‘Salamabad Cross LOC Traders Union’ and others, who categorically denied any kind of malpractices indulged in by traders.
He said they raised the question why malpractices (if any) were not noticed earlier and action taken. They said, in one voice, that whenever a malpractice was noticed, the wrong doers were punished, under the law.
“They confirmed my fear that the alarm had been raised by the Modi dispensation only keeping its eyes on Election 2019. These trade associations described GoI’s action as an uncalled for disruption bringing misery to the trading communities on both sides of LOC.
“Needless to mention it here that Pakistan has already deplored this unilateral action by Govt of India”, he said.