Karvan-e-Aman bus: 7 PoK guests arrive, 5 Kashmiris cross to other side of LoC

Srinagar, Dec 10 (UNI) Seven fresh guests from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived here on Monday while five Kashmiri residents 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 16 returnees also crossed sides at Kaman Post,” official sources told UNI this evening.

The weekly bus service was operational despite tense situation due to ceasefire violation by Pak troops last week in north Kashmir, which later led to suspension of trade for one day. An Army jawan was killed in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Machil sector in north Kashmir while a BSF jawan was martyred in Pak firing in Jammu region last week.

They said seven residents of PoK, including four women, arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947 due to partition. Ten Kashmiri residents, who had gone to PoK in a previous bus, returned here. These included four women and two children.

“Five Kashmiris crossed over to the other side of the LoC to meet their relatives while six PoK residents, who had arrived here in a previous bus, returned to his homes after completing his stay here,” they added.

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

The peace bus service has been operating, despite repeated attempts by the militants to sneak into this side from PoK after 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 the intelligence agencies from both the sides.