Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 30: Expressing shock over the National Investigating Agency (NIA) report which disclosed that cross LoC trade in J&K has become a security threat and a source of importing illicit funds into the territory for promoting terror, a large number of activists of Panthers Party led by chairman of the party Harsh Dev Singh staged a protest demonstration, seeking immediate closure of cross LoC trade in the State, at Exhibition Ground here today.
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Addressing the media at the protest dharna site, Harsh Dev said that NIA had reported that active Hizbul terrorists who had crossed over to Pakistan in the guise of traders were also involved in trade across the LoC to send money and weapons to the Indian side from PoK and some truck drivers were also involved in the activity. He said that the Agency had further alleged the flow of money from Pakistan based terror groups to Kashmiri separatists for fomenting trouble in the Valley.
“Not only the money was coming from Pakistan via Dubai with the help of Hawala traders to fund stone pelters and other subversives in Kashmir but the cross LoC trade networks were also being used to move tainted money as per the NIA dossier”, Harsh Dev revealed.
Singh further stated that NIA had also alleged in the report that there were large scale under invoicing and over invoicing of products which had hurt the general business of other traders and also opened a window for moving money illegally. Moreover, the report further alleged that many traders engaged in LoC trade were actually fronts for terror organizations, Harsh said.
Surprised over the recent drug bust of 66 kg heroin worth Rs 300 crores from a truck which originated from PoK during cross LoC trade at Uri in Kashmir, Harsh Dev said that the drug haul was one of the biggest in J&K after 2014 when 100 kg brown sugar was seized in the said trade. He said that LoC Trade Centre at Uri had been under radar of intelligence and security agencies and such trade routes were being used to move narcotics and fake Indian currency notes into India by terror syndicates from Pakistan.
Taking a dig at BJP, Singh regretted that leaders from Jammu had once again preferred to remain silent on the grave issue which had posed a security threat to the entire State. He questioned the sinister alliance that why the cross LoC trade was kept out of the ambit of GST.
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