BEIJING, April 5 -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reportedly travel to Indian-controlled Kashmir this month to inaugurate a historic bus service to the Pakistani portion of the Himalayan territory.

    The bus service will start on Thursday between Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, and Muzaffarabad in the Pakistan-controlled portion.

    It will be one of the biggest confidence-boosting measures between the South Asian rivals.

    Since the bus service was announced, many Kashmiris have clamored to apply for the special permits that will be used instead of passports or visas to cross the frontier.

    "If they allow me to travel by this route, then I will be very happy - I could then offer prayers at my brother's grave and meet my nephews and sister-in-law. It will make me very happy," said Haji Sanawala, a travel permit applicant.

    Both India and Pakistan claim all of the Himalayan territory, divided between them by a cease-fire zone, or Line of Control. They've fought two wars over it since their independence from Britain in 1947.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)