Two trucks decked with fresh flowers and laden with tomatoes crossed the border and entered Pakistan on Monday. The trucks, which were flagged off by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, marked a new beginning in trade ties with Pakistan. Badal termed the event “historic” and sought appropriate measures from the Centre for free movement of tourists across the border.

Hoping that more visa offices would be set up in Lahore and Amritsar, the Chief Minister said there was great potential for trade with Pakistan in the near future. With the border now having opened for goods vehicles on Monday, over 200 trucks are expected to cross the border from either side every month.

Ishwinder Singh, who became the first truck driver to go to Pakistan after 1947, was elated. “It feels great. I’m delighted,” he said.

MP and SAD acting chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, MP Navjot Singh Siddhu, Cabinet ministers Bikram Singh Majithia, Manoranjan Kalia and Gulzar Singh Ranike and several Akali workers came to see off the trucks. Speaking to mediapersons, Badal said that he had also urged the Centre to extend the freight corridor from Delhi to Ludhiana upto Attari, besides setting up an uninterrupted super-express highway from Delhi to Amritsar. Badal also asked the Centre to open up the Hussaniwala and Khemkaran borders to boost overall development and progress of the state.

The trade volume at present is about Rs 600 crore annually. It has the potential to go up to $6 billion if peace prevails and trade between the countries continues to grow. With the Attari border opening up, the traditional trade route from India to Central Asian and even European countries would get a boost, said Confederation of Indian Industries local head Gunbir Singh.

Regarding the development in Attari, Badal said that at a cost of Rs 300 crore, an Integrated Check Post would be set up around the border across 120 acres within two years. He said that only growing trade with Pakistan could reshape the economic landscape of the region.

Although our trucks did not get great welcome as expected and no truck from Pakistan crossed the border into India, Badal said it was only the beginning.