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| theguardian.com |
One of the first signs
of peace between any conflicting nations or communities is the onset of trade.
Trade brings hopes for peace.
The Guardian
(June 19) reports on the initiative encouraging trade across
Kashmir: Pakistan-administered Kashmir trading with Indian Kashmir. Between the
two sides is the de facto border, the Line of Control. Two communities near the
Chakothi Bridge have embraced in trade and peace after almost 60 years of
separation.
The area was divided
during the Partition of 1945, with intense periods of fighting from 1989 until
the ceasefire announced in 2003. In 2008 there were attempts to build trust along
the Line of Control through limited trade. Since 2009, Conciliation Resources’
Trading for Peace initiative has been working with local groups to create
reasons to trade. It works with business chambers, civil society, and
journalists to encourage communication and trade.
The system is locally
referred to as ‘blind trade’ because goods are exchanged for goods – the barter
system – rather than for money. The trust-building agreement allows the
exchange of a limited list of 21 items under a zero tariff regulation – and
this is possible because the Line of Control is not a ‘hard’ border (an
international border). Intra-Kashmir trade is between one part of Kashmir and another
part of Kashmir (Pakistan and India).
To facilitate the
trade is a system of rigorous scrutiny at the trade facilitation centres.
Trucks carrying the permitted goods are allowed to cross the Line of Control,
with the driver the only person accompanying the goods.
But the traders do not
know what they will receive in exchange. One member of the Joint Chamber of Commerce
and Industries said he was sending oranges and receiving carpets. Despite the
uncertainty of what they will receive, businesses on both sides support the
intra-Kashmir trade because it restores business. Currently more than 30
traders are involved.
The intra-Kashmir
trade is seen as an opportunity to improve livelihoods without compromising
political views. It also creates new possibilities for economic and cultural
relationships.
The system does have
detractors though. Those opposed to the process say that it is being used to
replace political dialogue. However, the traders say that the process does not
negate or concede their political aspirations.
As Siddiq Wahid,
historian in Indian-administered Kashmir, says ‘Trade leads to the development
of social relationships, which leads to emotional integration, which in turn
leads to trust.’ Hence trade brings hopes for peace in Kashmir.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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