Despite ceasefire violation, Karvan-e-Aman bus resumes after a week

Srinagar, Oct 23: Despite ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Uri sector, the Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), resumed on Monday after remaining suspended last week due to Diwali festival. Pakistani troops violated 2003 ceasefire agreement in Kamalkote in Uri sector during the past 24 hours, targeting forward posts. However, no one was injured in the shelling. The weekly bus left Srinagar this morning for Kaman post, the last Indian Military post on this side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector to cross over to other side, official sources told UNI. The bus, with 29 POK returnees, including 13 women and a child, has since reached Trade Facilitation Centre (TRC) Uri, where other passengers will board it before leaving for Kaman post, they said, adding that the exact number of passengers travelling in the bus would be known in the afternoon. The passengers, who could not travel last week due to cancellation of the bus, have been accommodated on Monday. 'We suspend the service on big occasions, including Eid, Independence Days of both India and Pakistan as a precautionary measure,' they added. The weekly bus service was one of the major Confidence Building Measure (CBM) taken by India and Pakistan to allow families divided due to partition in 1947 to meet each other. Despite opposition by militant outfits, the first bus was flagged off by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 7, 2005. Almost all separatist leaders, barring chairman of hardline Hurriyat Conference (HC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Democratic Freedom Party chief Shabir Ahmad Shah, have travelled in the bus to other side of the border. The bus has helped thousands of divided families to meet each other since their separation in 1947. However, only state subjects from both sides are eligible to travel in the peace bus provided their names are cleared by the intelligence agencies from both the countries. UNI