Mehbooba Urges Omar To Take Up Salamabad Centre’s Tourism Conversion With Centre

SRINAGAR, Sep 20: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday urged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take up with the Centre the issue of converting the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre near the Line of Control at Uri into a tourism facility.

“The Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre was built to bridge divided families, revive trade and heal wounds, not be reduced to a mere tourist site. It came at a heavy price, with many PDP workers losing their lives during the Muzaffarabad Chalo rally. I urge @OmarAbdullah to take this up with the GOI and restore its original purpose,” Mehbooba posted on X.

The former chief minister said there was a need to reopen routes connecting Kashmir to the outside world.

The Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre was built in 2008 after India and Pakistan agreed to a barter system of trade between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Cross-LoC trade was stopped by the Centre in April 2019 after authorities alleged that the route was being used for terror funding, smuggling of illegal weapons and narcotics, and circulation of counterfeit currency.

Last week, the tourism department took over the trade facilitation centre as the facility had remained idle for the past seven years. (Agencies)