India suspends postal exchange with Pak: No exchange of daak for over 4 years now, say officials
Speaking to The Indian Express, Lakshmikanta Dash, deputy director general (DDG), International Relations and Global Business, India Post, said: 'The Government of India has decided to suspend the exchange of all kinds of postal mail and parcels from Pakistan via both air and land routes.'
However, practically, the postal services between the two countries have remained suspended for the last five years now, after Islamabad had 'unilaterally stopped accepting postal bags from India' at Wagah border (land route) and other points of exchange including air route in August 2019 following abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir. It was first in the history of both the countries. Even through the three wars that two countries have fought, the exchange of daak had remained unaffected.
The services resumed in November 2019 for a brief period, before again being stopped by Pakistan in 2020. India however had still kept the window open and hadn't issued any written order banning postal exchange with Pakistan at that time.
The Saturday's order is a first by New Delhi officially banning postal exchange with Pakistan.
The exchange in November 2019 had resumed after India shot off a letter to UN-based agency Universal Postal Union (UPU) headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, apprising them of Pakistan's 'unilateral' decision and that it has 'defied UPU norms' by not serving any prior notice before suspending the service. The international postal service across the world is regulated by UPU. However, according to India Post officials, Islamabad again stopped the postal exchange 'without any prior notice somewhere in 2020.'
Dash said since over four years now, 'Pakistan was not accepting postal mail bags from India.'
'Today it's the first such order from our side suspending the exchange. Pakistan has not accepted our mails for at least four years now. In 2020, our department had tendered a reply in the Parliament that no mails were being exchanged between both countries. In fact, the Indian side had requested Islamabd to accept the letters keeping in view some fishermen who happen to be in Pakistan jails and their family members want to connect with them but there was no positive outcome,' said Dash.
There are three agreements signed between both countries covering postal exchange. The oldest one is Exchange of Value Payable Article, 1948 followed by 'Exchange of Postal Article, 1974' and 'International Speed Post Agreement, 1987.'
For the people of the two countries, with loved ones on both sides of the border, daak or khat, was an important link even in the times of emails, WhatsApp and video calls.
A postal department official from Amritsar division said: 'After Pakistan resumed the postal exchange via Attari-Wagah border, the vans from both sides used to swap mail bags but it stopped again during Covid in 2020. It never resumed thereafter and Wagah border was also removed as a point of exchange, and entire operations were shifted to Foreign Post Office (FPO), Delhi'.
Earlier, the two countries used to exchange mailbags via air-route almost on a daily basis and land route (Wagah border), and Delhi and Mumbai Foreign Post Offices (FPOs) were designated to handle mail for Pakistan.
Delhi-based Devika Mittal, who runs a peace initiative Aaghaz-e-Dosti, under which schoolchildren from both countries are encouraged to communicate with each other via letters, said: 'Until 2017, we were posting those letters and children in both countries could feel that love and emotion by holding those letters in their hands. However, even then, it would take ages for letters to get delivered. The postal exchange was a silent but powerful medium for people of both countries to connect. Now, we just scan the letters and teachers take print-outs and give them to children to read'.
Chandigarh -based Navsangeet Kaur, founder of White Faclon Publishing House, says: 'Knowing the importance of letter writing between people of both countries and how those letters are now a part of invaluable heritage, we published a book 'Chitthi Sarhad Paar Se' (A letter from across the border) which is a compilation of such letters from both sides.'
August 23, 2019: Pakistan 'unilaterally' stops postal exchange with India following abrogation of Article 370 from J&K. India writes to Universal Postal Union (UPU), Switzerland; says Pakistan has 'defied UPU norms' by not issuing prior notice before suspending service
October 2019: India stops postal bookings for Pakistan, says not being picked up by the other side.
November 2019: Pakistan Post issues order to 'partially resume' services with India, 'only to the extent of letter mail and Express Mail Service (EMS) documents'; exchange of parcels, merchandise etc still banned
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