SRINAGAR: The weekly-peace bus ‘Karvan-e-Aman’, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), left here this morning to cross over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC), official sources said.
Last week, the bus service was suspended in view of Eid-ul-Azha.
“The weekly bus left Bemina in Srinagar this morning for Kaman post to cross over to other side of the LoC despite heavy rain”, sources said. They said 29 passengers, including 13 woman and four children, are travelling in the bus though the exact number of people crossing over will be known in the evening.
Similarly, the number of travelling from PoK to this side will also be known in the evening, they said.
The bus service, a major Confidence Building Measure (CBM), was taken to allow resident of both sides, separated in 1947 to meet each other. The first bus operated despite opposition by militant outfits on April 7, 2005 and later all separatist leaders, barring hardline Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chief Shabir Ahmad Shah, travelled in the bus to PoK.
However, only the state subjects from both sides are eligible to travel in the bus after intelligence agencies of Pakistan and India clear their names.
So far thousands of families, separated due to partition, have met each other after the introduction of the peace bus. (AGENCIES)
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