CROSS LOC TRADE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN- CONTOURS AND DYNAMICS

The once economically prosperous region of Kashmir has ended up being decelerated in trade and trade relations as a fallout of the Indo-Pak conflict post partition. This phenomenon has had costs transcending the economy and the society at large. The partition has led to the division of families, local culture has been affected and the economy has suffered a great deal. The paper is an attempt to put cross-LoC trade in the larger framework of the conflict between India and Pakistan. While historicizing the conflict-ravaged economy of erstwhile united J&K, the paper discusses complementariness of patrilineage and trust, which constitutes a very important aspect of cross-LoC trade since 2008. The paper attempts to highlight the common bottle necks which have been placed in conducting trade between the two divided parts of Kashmir. Besides, the paper also points out that the policy of banning trade between patrilinear families is bound to have an adverse effect on the economic future of the region and cross LoC trade itself.