NEW DELHI/AMRITSAR, Apr 10:
After the bonhomie-marked visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, five Union ministers will converge at Attari on Friday for inauguration of the first Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the border which is expected to give fresh impetus to Indo-Pak ties.
“India is giving a lot of importance to it as this will enhance India-Pakistan trade manifold and increase people-to- people contacts. The high-profile delegation reflects India’s seriousness to the project,” a Government official said.
Pakistani Commerce Minister Makhdoom Fahim and Chief Minister of that country’s Punjab province Shahbaz Sharif will join the Indian delegation from across the border for opening of the ICP, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2010 and will boost trade between the two countries.
Home Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the ICP while Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Science Technology Minister Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for External Affairs Parneet Kaur and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will attend the function.
Water Resource Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is also expected to travel to Attari.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who met Zardari while he was in Delhi for a stopover enroute to Ajmer on a private visit, had noted that Pakistan had “moved forward” on the trade front.
Last month, Singh met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.
At present on an average 200 trucks laden with Indian merchandise cross the Wagah border daily. The new ICP would enable passage of 10 times more the number of trucks.
Pakistan has recently notified a list of 137 items which can be imported from India through land route. The list include vegetables as well as cattle.
Chidambaram had laid the foundation stone of the project in February 2010. The ICP at Attari is being constructed at a cost of about Rs 150 crore on 130 acres of land acquired by the Punjab Government.
The Government had set target to establish six ICPs in the first phase along India’s international borders. They are West Bengal’s Petrapole, Meghalaya’s Dawki, Tripura’s Akhaura (all in Indo-Bangla), Punjab’s Attari (Indo-Pak), Bihar’s Raxaul (India-Nepal) and Manipur’s Moreh (Indo-Myanmar).
The ICPs will have dedicated passenger and cargo terminals comprising adequate customs and immigration facilities, security and scanning equipment, health and quarantine facilities, passenger amenities like waiting areas, restaurants, rest rooms, duty-free shops, banks and financial services, dormitories for drivers and all related facilities like service stations in a single compound.
In the second phase, seven ICPs will be developed of which four are along India-Bangladesh borders-Hilli, Chandrabangha (both in West Bengal), Sutarkhandi (Assam), Kawarpuchiah (Mizoram) — and three are along India-Nepal borders-Jagbani (Bihar), Sunauli and Rupaidiha (both in Uttar Pradesh).
Well-managed ICPs are expected to boost India’s trade with neighbouring countries and also help check smuggling of goods.
Ahead of the ICP inauguration, Secretary Border Management E Ahmed held a meeting with district officials to take stock of the preparations.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is also expected to be present at the function which will coincide with Baisakhi festival in Punjab.
On April 8, the much-awaited ICP underwent a test run and yesterday 50 Pakistani trucks crossed into the country. (PTI)
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