(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Terror Through Trade

Topic: Terror Through Trade

Guest:

Prabhu Dayal, (Former Ambassador)
Maj. Gen. Dhruv C Katoch, (Director India Foundation)
Abhinav Prakash, (Assistant Professor, Economics, University of Delhi)

Topic Description:

In a significant move to further crackdown on terror, India on Thursday indefinitely suspended cross-LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision, effective Friday onwards, came amid reports that it was being misused by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons, narcotics as well as fake currency. The official statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs said orders have been issued for halting the trade at Salamabad of Baramulla in the Kashmir region, and Chakkan-da-Bagh of Poonch district in the Jammu region. The crackdown comes two months after India withdrew the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan in the wake of the dastardly Pulwama terror attack. Although the MHA statement asserts that the decision will be revisited after stricter regulatory mechanisms are put in place to ensure that "only bonafide trade" takes place, which benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir and does not pose a security threat to the country...On the show today, let's discuss in detail why suspending cross-LoC trade had become imperative for the government and its implications on cross-border trade between India and Pakistan...