Indo-Pak LoC trade, bus services likely to resume on Monday

Jammu: The signs of business along the line of control (LoC) between the two sides of Jammu and Kashmir have started re-appearing, and the cross-border trade and travel would likely be resumed on Monday, said an official source on Sunday.

According to an civil administration official, the tensions have eased and the routine trade and travel between the two sides of Jammu and Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan would likely be resumed from Monday.

This dramatic turn around came after the Indian and Pakistani armies exchanged sweets along the LoC on Saturday as a mark of goodwill gesture on the occasion of India's 64th Republic Day.

The cross-LoC trade and travel, which was described as one of the biggest confidence building measures, was suspended after the January 8 brutal killing of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistani troops.

Pakistan had refused to open the gates at Chakan-da-Bagh along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

India-Pakistan relations took a hit after New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of brutally killing two Indian soldiers close to the LoC and beheading one of them. The chopped head was carried away.

Pakistan accused Indian troops of killing two Pakistani soldiers on two separate days.

In retaliation to the beheading and the mutilation of the other soldier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared that there can be no business as usual with Pakistan.

The Indian and Pakistani armies have been traditionally greeting each other on the winding LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries, ever since a ceasefire came into effect in 2003.