Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 7: The 78 truck drivers along with their trucks continue to be stranded on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) after yesterday’s recovery of narcotics from a Pakistani truck containing oranges at Salamabad and police have arrested four persons including PoK truck driver.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Gareeb Das told Excelsior that over 9 kilogramme narcotics was recovered from the Pakistani truck bearing registration number P-9627 yesterday and they were concealed in orange cartons.
Das said that truck driver Syed Inayat Hussain Shah, resident of Kumikote Muzaffarabad has been formally arrested today. He said that they have also arrested Zahoor Ahmad Malla alias Raju Trali, resident of Mir Sahib Old Town Baramulla on whose name the consignment of oranges was booked.
Police have also arrested two associates of Malla- Abdul Majid Shalla son of Mohammad Sultan resident of Armpora Baramulla and Mohammad Yusuf Dar son of Mohammad Subhan Dar resident of Dranbal Baramulla. Police are questioning them about the narcotics haul.
The DIG said that trucks of Indian side continue to be stranded in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on the LoC and Pakistani trucks are stranded in Salamabad. He said that the Ministry of External Affairs have been informed about the developments.
Around 28 trucks arrived in Salamabad yesterday and 50 trucks from Salamabad left for Chakoti in Muzaffarabad carrying various items.
This is not for the first time that there was any stand off on the LoC due to recovery of narcotics. On January 17 last year, Police seized 114 pockets of brown sugar from a truck (RIS-2137) driven by Mohammad Shafiq of Sarwar Muzafarabad in Salamabad Uri.
27 Indian trucks along with their drivers were detained by Pakistan and they didn’t allow their own 48 Pakistani trucks and their drivers to return for about three weeks. However, the matter was later resolved by the External Affairs Ministries of both the countries and the trucks and drivers were allowed to cross to their respective countries except the driver from whose truck the brown sugar was recovered.
India and Pakistan started cross LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir from Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-Bagh in Jammu in 2006, a year after Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service was started in April 2005 first time after the partition.
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