IRIN
PAKISTAN: Second border crossing-point opens to allow relief from India
9 November 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

CHAKOTHI, 9 November (IRIN) - A straggly, single file of porters, 
hunched over as they carried sacks of relief goods sent across from 
Indian-administered Kashmir, were watched by dozens as they walked up 
the broken road towards Chakoti on Wednesday morning.

The opening up of the Chakoti-Uri crossing-point, known as Kamran Post, 
on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Pakistan and Indian-administered 
portions of the Kashmir Valley, a disputed territory over which India 
and Pakistan have fought two wars, has been widely welcomed.

It's now more than a month since the devastating regional quake that has 
killed at least 86,000 and injured more than 100,000. Adequate relief 
has still to reach tens of thousands of vulnerable people and winter 
snows are threatening to kill those housed in emergency camps.

But people in the valley hope the decision reached a few days ago 
between Islamabad and New Delhi to open up five points along the LoC can 
at least reunite divided families. Many have been kept apart for over 50 
years due to hostilities between the two South Asian neighbours. They 
also hope the new crossing points can ease the supply of relief to some 
of the worst-hit areas in the Neelum and Leepa valleys of 
Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where access by road to many villages is 
still impossible.

"Our Kashmiri brothers on the Indian-administered side are desperate to 
help us. We have received many telephone messages offering us support. 
Now perhaps they can bring the relief goods themselves," said Imdad 
Hussain, 65, a tailor from the small town of Rawalakot, close to the 
frontier.

He had reached Chakothi, the last town on the Pakistani side of the 
frontier along the road leading from Muzzafarabad, the capital of 
Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to Srinagar, the capital of the 
India-administered portion, to witness the border opening.

"Some day, I hope to see my niece Sameera, who lives near Poonch [in 
Indian-administered Kashmir]. She was a baby when I last saw her, in 
1947," said Imdad, who was himself little more than a toddler at the 
time.

So far, civilians have not been permitted to cross the LoC. While the 
agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad allows for Kashmiri residents 
to cross briefly and visit relatives on the other side of the divide, 
bureaucratic details to enable this have yet to be put in place. Lists 
of applicants who wish to go across and a process to register them and 
monitor their return, are still being completed.

The desperation of people to move freely across the tightly patrolled 
frontier was evident on Monday, when the first crossing-point was opened 
at Titrinote, between Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and 
Poonch, on the Indian side.

Soon after, soldiers from both sides shook hands in a rare gesture of 
friendship and relief goods were handed across to Pakistani authorities. 
Several dozen people on the Pakistani side attempted to race towards the 
frontier, apparently hoping to cross over. They were held back by police 
who eventually had to resort to tear gas to control a crowd of hundreds, 
which began angry protests shouting loudly: "We want freedom", "Allow us 
to meet our brothers".

Kashmiris gathered on the Indian side responded with similar slogans, 
some insisting: "We want to help our fellow Kashmiris - let us go."

Many in Kashmir hope that the humanitarian disaster the quake has 
brought will persuade governments to allow Kashmiris to reunite. They 
also believe utilising routes from India can somewhat ease the task of 
swift relief delivery to the worst-affected areas. On Tuesday, World 
Food Programme (WFP) spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume called for 
"opening up of roads" from across the India-Pakistan border to allow aid 
to reach those in "the most desperate need of help".

The sight of soldiers clearing landmines and lifting barriers off roads 
leading towards the frontier caused rare joy among local people. Haseeb 
Khan, 74, a retired building contractor at Chakothi, said: "Maybe my 
great grandchildren will know a childhood like my own, when there were 
no mines, no guns and no soldiers in Kashmir and people were not held 
apart by barriers that have still not completely come down even when 
thousands have died before our eyes."


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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