Srinagar
The weekly Karwan-e-Aman bus service operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad Pakistan remained suspended since March 4 on Monday, officials said.
They said the stranded passengers here and Kashmiris in other side of the Line of Control (LoC) were allowed to cross the sides on April 21 and 29, respectively.
The cross-LoC bus, introduced as one of the major Confidence Building Measure (CBM) by Pakistan and India in 2005, remained suspended since March four due to some repair work of Aman Setu peace bridge at Kaman post, the last Indian military post on this side of the LoC.
Three PaK residents, who were stranded here after the suspension of the bus returned to their homes on April 29 when both sides agreed to facilitate their travel. Earlier, two Kashmiris returned to their homes on April 21 evening.
The weekly bus service has helped thousands of divided families to meet each other since April 7, 2005, when India and Pakistan agreed to allow state subjects from both sides to travel on ” Travel Permits”, instead of International Passports.
The trade on both the windows that was started late 2008 has recently been suspended. The Home Ministry has issued a detailed statement offering reasons for closing the barter trade and Pakistan has taken a strong exception to the move. The LoC traders have been protesting against the extreme decision-making.
