A recent bilateral meeting ended in an Indian proposal to open more trade routes, including the Kargil-Skardu road, which would boost trade and tourism activities in the region, consolidating the humanitarian and democratic aspirations of both India and the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement leaders have also called upon the Government of Pakistan to implement the proposal.
HunzaNews March 26th, 2014.
“The people of Gilgit-Baltistan welcome the proposal by India to open the Kargil-Skardu road for trade purposes. This proposal is based on humanitarian, democratic norms and aspirations of the people on both sides of the divide”. These views were expressed by Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement (GBUM) chairman Manzoor Hussain Parwana and secretary general Ghulam Shahzad Agha.
They were referring to a proposal by the Indian side during a bilateral meeting to open more trade routes including the Kargil-Skardu to facilitate the divided families meet each other and promote across-the-border trade. The GBUM leaders asked the government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to implement the proposal.
They said it had been the longstanding demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to open the old route in order to help the divided families interact with each other and promote trade activities in the region. They said that it was a major breakthrough in the ongoing talks between the two countries.
They said that the opening of the route would usher in a new era of development and prosperity in the region. If this route is opened, over 0.3 million tourists can take benefit of the route and there will be an increased trade activities in the area. They said that due to the closure of the old trade route, the area had been facing negative economic fallout and the reopening of the route would revive old trade activities in the area.
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