E-Paper
After 2-yr lull, passenger movement between India, Pak via ICP up
According to officials of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), which manages the ICP’s affairs, nearly 100 passengers have been crossing the border from both sides on a daily basis for the past few days after India did away with the requirement of a special permission from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in mid-March.
After two years of pandemic lull, the integrated check-post (ICP) at the Attari border in Amritsar, there has been an increase in passenger traffic between India and Pakistan.
According to officials of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), which manages the ICP’s affairs, nearly 100 passengers have been crossing the border from both sides on a daily basis for the past few days after India did away with the requirement of a special permission from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in mid-March.
“The movement of passengers has increased in the past three to four days,” said a senior official who didn’t wish to be named.
He said, “On Saturday, 58 passengers arrived from Pakistan, while 47 departed from the ICP. Similarly, the number of arrival and departures was 47 and 44, respectively, on Friday. On Thursday, 81 persons arrived from Pakistan, while 64 crossed over to the neighbouring country.”
He further said, “When the special permission from the MHA was required, only 20 to 30 persons would travel between both countries every day. The special permission was made mandatory in March 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions were imposed. In the last two years, mostly those who were stranded due to the pandemic or some emergency, crossed over from India to Pakistan and vice versa.”
Sources said around 1,400 and 1,000 passengers travelled between both countries via the border in January and February, respectively, after getting the special permission.
On March 16, 2020, the union government shut the border for passengers to prevent the spread of virus. Soon, the government of Pakistan also followed suit. Only those stuck in both countries were allowed to travel via the land border with a special permission from the MHA, and compliance with the guidelines of Covid-19.
The families across the border suffered the most during these times. However, jathas were allowed to cross the border after getting the special permission.
ICP’s manager Sukhdev Singh said, “The traffic of passengers travelling from India to Pakistan and vice versa is likely to increase more in the coming days as the Indian government has eased the Covid-induced restrictions.”
Box
Arrivals and departures
On Saturday, 58 passengers arrived from Pakistan, while
47 departed from the ICP.
On Friday, the number of arrival and departures was 47 and 44, respectively.
On Thursday, 81 persons arrived from Pakistan, while 64 crossed over to the neighbouring country
