Promoting Cross-LoC Trade in Kashmir

Summary

Since 2005, Pakistan and India have pursued out-of-the-box thinking on Kashmir as a way to address tensions over the disputed territory. With neither India nor Pakistan able to impose its preferred solution to the conflict, the impasse in this six-decade-old war has gradually pushed leaders on both sides to show more flexibility in their traditional positions on Kashmir, with both governments endorsing the concept of "making borders irrelevant." One of the most promising developments has been the formation of the Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Joint Chamber), the first formal establishment across the "Line of Control," which has the potential to play a central role in future efforts at economic collaboration. Though the Joint Chamber is still in its infancy, and faces many challenges from the Pakistani and Indian governments, a USIP special report outlines how the entity can help resolve tensions by allowing better movement of people, goods and services across the Line of Control. Because steps to implement this approach have been limited thus far, author Moeed Yusuf assesses the Joint Chamber and provides a concrete illustration of the opportunities and challenges of the way forward.

About the Report

This report examines the newly formed Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry to suggestways in which this nebulous entity can play an instrumental role in ensuring further expansion of cross–Line of Control(LoC) ties. The United States Institute of Peace's Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution commissioned this report, which builds on two earlier reports published by USIP that analyze the possibilities and practicalities of managing the Kashmir conflict through softening the LoC to allow the easy movement of people, goods, and services. With neither Indian or Pakistan able to impose its preferred solution to the conflict, the impasse in this six-decade-old war has gradually pushed leaders on both sides to show more flexibility in their traditional positions on Kashmir, without officially abandoning them. Both governments have repeatedly endorsed the "making borders irrelevant" concept--softening borders instead of redefining or removing them--giving it promise as a creative and pragmatic approach to the conflict. Because steps to implement this approach have been limited thus far, this in-depth consideration of the Joint Chamber providesa concrete illustration of the opportunities and challenges of the way forward.

Moeed Yusuf is a fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center at Boston University, a research fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and a research fellow at Strategic and Economic Policy Research in Pakistan. He specializes in strategic and political economy concerns related to South Asia. This is his second report on the issue of enhancing human and economic exchanges in Kashmir. The previous report, titled "Exploring the Potential for Economic Development and Cross–LoC Collaboration in Jammu Kashmir," was published by Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and supported by USIP. He has previously been involved in track II meetings on Kashmir supported bythe Institute.