15 guests from PoK arrive, 7 Kashmiris cross over to other side of LoC

Srinagar, Mar 12 : As many as 15 guests from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived here while seven Kashmiris crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in the weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.

Nine returnees also crossed sides at the Kaman Post, in Uri sector, official sources told UNI on Monday afternoon.

They said 15 residents of PoK, including six women and four children, arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947 due to partition.

Five Kashmiris, including three women, who had gone to PoK in previous buses, also returned after completing their stay there.

They said seven Kashmiris, including four women, crossed over to the other side of LoC in the weekly bus.

''Four PoK resident, who had arrived in previous buses to meet their relatives, returned to her home after completing her stay here,'' they added.

The inter cross-LoC bus service was one of the major Confidence Building (CBM) taken by India and Pakistan after both the countries agreed for a ceasefire on LoC and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir in 2003.

The peace bus service has been operating despite repeated attempts being made by militants to sneak into this side from PoK before the higher reaches close due to snowfall for winter months. The bus has since helped thousands of divided families to meet each other.

However, only state subjects from both the sides, are eligible to travel in the bus after their names are cleared by intelligence agencies from both sides.