Pardee Fellow Publishes Report for US Institute of Peace

Pardee Center Research Fellow Moeed Yusuf’s paper on “Promoting Cross-LoC Trade in Kashmir” has just been published by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as a Special Report (Download Full Paper Here).

The paper was commissioned by USIP’s Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution to understand prospects of economic collaboration in the territory of Jammu and Kashmir which is disputed between Pakistan and India. This is Yusuf’s second report on the subject of enhancing human and economic exchanges in Kashmir. The previous paper, titled Exploring the Potential for Economic Development and Cross–LoC Collaboration in Jammu Kashmir,

was published by Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

In this paper Moeed Yusuf examines the newly formed Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of commerce and Industry to suggest ways in which this entity could play an instrumental role in ensuring further expansion of cross–Line of Control (LoC) ties. The paper looks at the Joint Chamber as a case study to analyze the possibilities and practicalities of managing the Kashmir conflict through softening the LoC to allow the easy movement of people, goods, and services.

With neither India or Pakistan able to impose its preferred solution to the conflict, the impasse in this six-decade-old conflict has gradually pushed leaders on both sides to show more flexibility in their traditional positions on Kashmir, without officially abandoning them. Both governments have repeatedly endorsed the “making borders irrelevant” concept—softening borders instead of redefining or removing them—giving it promise as a creative and pragmatic approach to the conflict. Because steps to implement this approach have been limited thus far, this in-depth consideration of the Joint Chamber provides a concrete illustration of the opportunities and challenges of the way forward. This is the first ever research-based analysis of the Joint Chamber.