Karvan-e-Aman bus leaves to cross over to PoK

SRINAGAR: The Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffabad, capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), left here to cross over to other side of the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday morning, official sources said.

The bus with 14 passengers left Bemina, Srinagar, for Kaman post, the last Indian post on this side of the LoC, sources told UNI.

The bus has reached Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC), Salamabad, Uri , where more passengers will board it before proceeding towards Kaman post, they said adding the exact number of passengers crossing over to other side will be known in the afternoon.

Similarly, they said, the number of people travelling



from POK will also be known in the evening.The bus service, introduced on April 7, 2005 has helped thousands of families, divided in 1947, to meet each other.

However, only state subjects from both sides of the LoC are eligible to travel in the cross-LoC bus, one of the major Confidence Building Measures (CBM), taken by India and Pakistan despite opposition by militant organizations.

State subjects from both sides are allowed to travel on travel permits instead of International passports.

Barring Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Shabir Ahmad Shah, majority separatists leaders have travelled in the bus to POK.