09 PoK guests arrive, 04 Kashmiris cross over LoC

Srinagar: Only nine fresh guests from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived here on Monday while four 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.

"As many as 62 returnees also crossed sides at Kaman Post," official sources told news agency this evening. The bus service was suspended last week after PoK government announced holiday on November 5, when funeral of Sardar Khalid, son of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (70), founder President of PoK was held at Rawlakote.

They said nine residents of PoK, including three women, arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947 due to partition. Meanwhile, five Kashmiri residents, who had gone to PoK in previous buses, returned here. The number of guests coming from PoK comes down during winter months and goes up during summers. On the contrary, the number of Kashmiris visiting PoK goes up during winters and comes down during summers.

"Four Kashmiris, a woman, crossed over to the other side of the LoC to meet their relatives," they said, adding as many as 57 PoK residents, including 27 women and nine children, who had arrived here in previous buses, returned to their homes after completing their stay here.