Tourism Department takes over Salamabad centre, ending cross-LoC trade role
The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has taken over the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri and its assets, formally ending the facility's role as a cross-LoC trade point. It will be repurposed for border tourism. Trade through the route was suspended in April 2019, after the February 2019 Pulwama attack, over alleged misuse for weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency. The barter-based trade had begun in October 2008.
Source
News18 — India · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- The J&K Tourism Department has taken over the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre and its assets for tourism use. — Stated in source as fact; no specific order or official spokesperson cited.
- Cross-LoC trade through Salamabad has been suspended since April 2019, after the February 2019 Pulwama attack. — Dates appear consistently in the source, including in its own explainer section.
- India suspended trade citing alleged misuse of routes for weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency. — Attributed in source to the Government of India's stated reasons.
- Cross-LoC trade began in October 2008, following the 2005 Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service. — Figures appear in source as background; not independently sourced.
- NC MLA Dr Sajad Shafi says plans include border tourism and pilgrimage tourism in Uri. — Direct quotes attributed to the named MLA in an interview with News18.
Analysts’ view opinion
Handing the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre to the Tourism Department looks administrative, but its political message is unmistakable: the hope of reviving cross-LoC trade, launched in 2008 as a confidence-building measure, has now been formally shelved at the level of bricks and mortar. Notably, the push came from National Conference MLA Dr Sajad Shafi, framed as a plan under Omar Abdullah's leadership to put Uri on the tourism map. In effect, the party most associated with the LoC-engagement legacy is now converting those assets into local development politics.
- The Centre's April 2019 suspension has now hardened into an infrastructural fact, signalling that security considerations continue to set the policy direction.
- For constituencies that spent years demanding trade's revival, this is political closure — though former Uri trade office-bearer Abdul Ahad welcoming the move shows opposition is not uniform.
- For the National Conference it is a двойной win: it avoids confronting security realities while showing constituency-level deliverables in jobs and tourism.
- The idea of border tourism feeds the wider 'normalcy' narrative in Kashmir, which suits political interests at both the state and national level.
- Electorally, the signal that trade will not return pushes alternative-livelihood politics to the front in border constituencies.
What to watch — Watch whether the Tourism Department actually commits funds and viewpoint clearances to the site, or whether political pressure from trader groups seeking a trade revival builds instead.
The story does not establish the central government's formal position, reactions from rival parties, or any budget and timeline for the tourism plan — nor does it record a declaration that cross-LoC trade is permanently abolished.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
The Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri, Baramulla district, was the Kashmir Valley's designated point for cross-Line of Control (LoC) barter trade with Pakistan-administered Kashmir, launched in October 2008 as a confidence-building measure. Trade through Salamabad and the Poonch-based Chakan-da-Bagh route was suspended by the Government of India in April 2019, after the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack, over alleged misuse of the routes for weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency. The facility has stood idle since. The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has now taken over the centre and its assets to develop border tourism, formally ending its trade role.
Key facts
- The J&K Tourism Department has taken over the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri and its assets for tourism-related activities.
- Cross-LoC trade at Salamabad began in October 2008 as part of confidence-building measures across the Line of Control.
- The trade operated on a barter-based mechanism, not a conventional international trading system.
- The Government of India suspended cross-LoC trade through Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh in April 2019, after the Pulwama terror attack of February 2019.
- Reason cited for suspension: alleged misuse of routes for movement of weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency.
- The facility has remained silent since 2019; the source says the Trade Facilitation Centre stood unused for the next seven years.
- Existing assets identified for tourism use include accommodation with several rooms, a stone-built cafeteria, a park and a viewpoint.
- The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, launched in 2005, preceded the trade initiative and reconnected divided families.
Timeline
- 2005Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service launched, opening a route for divided families across the LoC.
- October 2008Cross-LoC barter trade introduced; Salamabad becomes a major trade point in Kashmir.
- February 2019Pulwama terror attack; cross-LoC trade at Salamabad comes to a halt in its aftermath.
- April 2019Government of India suspends cross-LoC trade through Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh citing misuse for weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency.
- Reported September 18, 2026J&K Tourism Department takes over the Salamabad centre and assets; facility to be repurposed for border tourism.
Who has a stake
- Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department — Now owns the centre and its assets; must assess infrastructure and develop it for visitors and LoC viewpoints.
- Traders of Uri (e.g. Abdul Ahad, former General Secretary of Trade in Uri) — Lost livelihood from cross-LoC commerce since 2019; welcomes conversion to tourism, citing the heritage Jhelum Valley Road.
- Dr Sajad Shafi, National Conference MLA — Drove the conversion; wants Uri on the tourism map through border and pilgrimage tourism.
- J&K government under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah — Political credit for repurposing idle border infrastructure into tourism assets in the Uri belt.
- Government of India / security establishment — Suspended trade over alleged misuse of routes for weapons, narcotics and fake currency; border security remains the overriding concern.
- People of Uri and surrounding areas — Salamabad was tied to a major confidence-building initiative; future income now depends on tourism rather than trade.
Why it matters
The handover converts one of the last physical symbols of India-Pakistan confidence-building measures in Kashmir into a tourism asset, signalling that cross-LoC trade is being treated as closed rather than merely suspended. For the Uri border belt, it shifts the local economic model from barter commerce with the other side of the LoC to visitor-driven border tourism.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Cross-LoC trade began October 2008; routes were Salamabad (Uri) and Chakan-da-Bagh.
- Cross-LoC trade was barter-based, not conventional international trade.
- Trade suspended April 2019 after the February 2019 Pulwama attack, citing weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency misuse.
- Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service started in 2005 as a confidence-building measure.
- Salamabad lies on the historic Jhelum Valley Road, near the Jhelum River in Uri.
- Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre now transferred to the J&K Tourism Department for border tourism.
Mains framing
The repurposing of the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre illustrates how confidence-building measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan have been reversed by security imperatives. Cross-LoC barter trade, begun in October 2008 after the 2005 Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, was designed less as an economic instrument than as a people-to-people bridge across a divided region, reviving links along the historic Jhelum Valley Road. Its suspension in April 2019, following the Pulwama attack and allegations that the routes were used to move weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency, exposed the structural weakness of barter arrangements lacking robust verification and banking channels. The transfer of the idle facility to the Tourism Department, seven years on, converts a diplomatic asset into a domestic development asset: existing rooms, cafeteria, park and viewpoint are to serve border and pilgrimage tourism in Uri. The implications are twofold: locally, it offers an alternative livelihood pathway for a border population that lost trade income; strategically, it reduces the institutional infrastructure available should dialogue resume. A balanced way forward, on the evidence in the source, would pair credible tourism development of the border belt with the recognition that any future revival of cross-LoC exchange would require verification mechanisms far stronger than the earlier barter model.
Key terms
- Cross-LoC trade
- Barter-based exchange of permitted goods across the Line of Control between traders on both sides, operating from October 2008 to 2019.
- Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC)
- Government facility with cargo halls, weighbridge and offices to process goods crossing the LoC; Salamabad hosted one in Uri.
- Chakan-da-Bagh
- The other cross-LoC trade route, suspended along with Salamabad in April 2019.
- Confidence-building measures (CBMs)
- Steps such as the 2005 Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus and 2008 cross-LoC trade meant to reduce tension and reconnect divided families.
- Border tourism
- Promotion of visits to border areas, here including designated viewpoints along the Line of Control in the Uri belt.
- Jhelum Valley Road
- Historic route through Uri, part of which lies across the LoC; cited as heritage justification for tourism development.
Practice questions
- Cross-LoC trade was introduced as a confidence-building measure but was suspended on security grounds. Critically examine the viability of trade-based CBMs along the Line of Control.
- Discuss the implications of converting border trade infrastructure into tourism assets for the local economy and livelihoods of border populations in Jammu and Kashmir.
- What structural features of the barter-based cross-LoC trade mechanism made it vulnerable to misuse? Suggest safeguards for any future revival.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.