TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005 11:11:26 PM ]
BARAMULLA: On April 7, when the first cross-border bus from Srinagar reaches Muzzafarabad, its cargo will include a Kashmiri hand-made willow basket (zan in Kashmiri parlance). So what's so special about the basket? Only the identity of its intended recipient. The basket, meant for Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, will contain red glistening Firdous, Amri and Delicious varieties of Kashmiri apples.
It's not just meant as a souvenir. The gift would also be inspired by the thought that it is economics that governs politics. The idea is to make inroads into the markets of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Pakistan and Gulf countries.
"We are going to send samples of our apples to the Pakistani president and a few others so that they realise we are producing quality and feel compelled to buy our produce," says Ghulam Rasool Bhat, president, J&K Fruit and Vegetable Growers cum Dealers' Association.
Traders in Kashmir have already started calculating the profits that opening of the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road can bring them. Baramulla was once so prosperous it was called Chhota London (Little London). Pre-1947, it was a centre of trade. However, after the Line of Control divided Kashmir, everything came to a standstill.
"We had a wide market from Rawalpindi and Amritsar to Lahore. But the LoC wiped out our glory completely," says Bhat.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1049874.cms
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