Summary:
AMRITSAR: Truckloads of goods were lying on Monday at the the integrated check post (ICP) at Attari as traders refused to pay the hiked customs duty. "The government's decision to hike customs duty has punished us and not the Pakistanis," said Anil Mehra, president of Federation of Karyana and Dry Fruit Commercial Association. Traders in Amritsar have, intead, backed the idea of suspending cross-border trade with Pakistan through the ICP at Attari and duty-free barter across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, instead of hiking customs duty on Pakistan-imported goods to 200%. However, if it wants to increase customs duty, it should have at least given us a couple of days, so we could have collected the goods already been imported from Pakistan and lying at ICP," he said. "Being Indians, we want our government to take strict measures against Pakistan..