Opening borders of Punjab with Pakistan for trade will provide impetus to the states economy and will be a major boon for farmers,Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Sunday. Speaking to mediapersons on the fourth day of his thanksgiving tour of Lambi his constituency the chief minister said: The visit assumes significance as improving bilateral ties and promotion of trade will benefit both the countries in general and Punjab in particular. Punjab being a land locked state had been a victim of the wrong policies of the successive Congress government at the Centre,who have virtually ignored the states economic development. If the borders of the state are opened for cross border trade with Pakistan,then it will prove to be a major boon for the farmers of Punjab,who are on the verge of economic disaster due to the exorbitant hike by the Centre in agricultural inputs, he added. Badal claimed that trade will open up new avenues for Punjabs traders and farmers as through Pakistan,they will be able to establish trade links with the Arab world. The SAD-BJP government has been regularly urging the Union government to open the Hussainiwala and Attari borders for trade with Pakistan but all efforts have proved futile, he said. Asserting that the Centre must ensure that while exporting agricultural commodities to Pakistan it should give preference to Punjab the food bowl of the country Badal said: Punjabis have a lot of expectations from the current visit of Zardari. So,the Centre must take an initiative to safeguard the economic interests of the state.
