Second Kashmir buses arrive safe

Residents of Pakistan-administered Kashmir cross the Line of Control

The second bus services to cross the divided region of Kashmir have arrived safely at their destinations despite continuing threats from militants.

The buses arrived in Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and a little later in Srinagar in the Indian-administered sector.

The fortnightly service was launched earlier this month.

It has been hailed as a major boost to peace between India and Pakistan both of whom claim Kashmir in its entirety.

The inaugural service on 7 April was the first in nearly 60 years.

Disbelief

The second buses have now completed their journeys without any incidents.

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Kashmir dispute

The bus from Muzaffarabad carried 25 passengers, including 14 residents of Indian-administered Kashmir who were returning home after having travelled on the inaugural service.

"I still don't believe I have visited Muzaffarabad," Ghulam Fatima told the AFP agency.

"It was exciting meeting my daughter and son-in-law after three decades," she said after spending the past 15 days with them.

"There is no difference between here and there," said Khalid Hassan, a retired civil servant also returning home.

"Life is the same; people wear the same clothes, it's the same atmosphere," he told Reuters.

From the new batch of passengers, Begum Jan, from Uri in Indian-controlled Kashmir, told Reuters: "I have always prayed that I would see my sister and now that day has arrived."

Service welcomed

The bus from Srinagar carried 28 passengers, some of whom were picked up on the way to the Line of Control.

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Two decoy buses, escorted by the police and paramilitary forces, had left 10 minutes before the passenger buses rolled out.

Correspondents say the fanfare that surrounded the inaugural service has died down.

Only 19 passengers travelled on the first bus from the Indian side following militant threats of violence and a rebel attack on a guest house in which the travellers had been lodged.

The Indian government had turned down a proposal for the bus to leave from Salamabad, which is closer to the Line of Control than Srinagar.

The historic bus services have been welcomed by most Kashmiris, many of whom have been divided by the decades-long conflict.

The passengers defied the militants' call to avoid boarding the bus.

"The desire to meet separated relatives is proving stronger than the fear of death," a trader in Srinagar, Zaffar Ahmed, told the BBC News website.

The bus deal forms the cornerstone of a breakthrough in relations between India and Pakistan, which were further boosted with the visit of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to India last weekend.

The two sides agreed to increase the number of services as well as to allow lorries to use the route for trade. No date has been announced for the new services.