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Terror funding in lieu of California almonds through LoC trade

Subodh Bhasin. Dated: 4/20/2019 8:27:26 AM

SUBODH BHASIN Jammu, Apr 19 Almonds of California in the United States have been regularly finding their way through LoC trade involving a large transport network. As per the reports, Pakistani traders under-invoice products like California almonds. After receiving the consignment, traders on the Indian side sell California almonds at the prevailing market price and make extra and undue profit due to the under-invoicing, a security official said. Taking into consideration the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday suspended the cross- Line of Control (LoC) trade in Jammu and Kashmir, citing “funnelling of illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency” as reasons. Cross-LoC trade was started in 2008 by setting up two Trade Facilitation Centres located at Uri’s Salamabad in Baramulla, and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Poonch. It is pertinent to mention here that LoC trade across Chakan-Da-Bagh and Salamabad was intended as a confidence building measure for the population living in remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir and living across LoC in PoJK and J&K. However as per MHA reports, third parties manipulated the trade and misused it for trading goods being produced from outside the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The extra money generated is handed over by the traders to terrorists, separatists or anti-national elements in the Kashmir Valley to fuel anti-India activities. It has also come to the notice of security agencies that a significant number of trading concerns engaged in cross-LoC trade are being operated by persons closely associated with banned terrorist organizations. Businessman Zahoo Ahmed Watali, who is currently in jail in terror funding cases, was the president of LoC traders association and he was allegedly found to be funnelling money to terrorists, separatists and subversive elements in the Valley. The Enforcement Directorate has already attached his property worth crores of rupees and further investigations are still on. The National Investigation Agency has decoded the modus operandi of dubious hawala transactions for terror financing. The cross-LoC trade is also being used as a regular channel for funnelling drugs such as cocaine, brown sugar and heroine into the Kashmir Valley, adversely impacting the youth and converting many into addicts. The action to stop LoC trade has been taken after reports that the cross-LoC trade routes are being misused by Pakistan- based elements for funneling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency, etc and the misuse was “on a very large scale. The government will revisit the issue of resuming the LoC trade after stricter measures and systems are put in place to address these issues.