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| Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh (right) flagging off the first bus service to link divided Kashmir
in nearly 60 years. |
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| A Pakistani Kashmiri driver of a
bus adjusts a flag before departure from a bus terminal in
Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir,
April 7. |
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| The arrival at Srinagar of
the bus from Muzaffarabad resulted in a tearful reunion Thursday between
two brothers from the divided parts of Kashmir who had not seen each other
for two decades. (Reuters photo) |
NEW DELHI, April 7 (Xinhuanet) -- It was an
emotional, historic moment as 30 passengers from Muzaffarabad Thursday crossed
the Line of Control (LoC) into the Indian part of Kashmir to kiss the soil of
the land they had been denied entry for so long, according to Indo-Asian News
Service.
On hand to receive the passengers arriving on the
first bus from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar in 58 years was Indian administered
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed who gave them a warm
welcome.
Amongst the 30 were five women, including an elderly
woman who crossed the bridge spanning the yawning divide between the two
Kashmirs on a wheelchair.
It was a tearful, profound occasion as the
passengers, who had braved militant threats to make the journey, kissed the soil
on this side of the divide. There were bouquets and garlands, and also many
moist eyes in the crowds that had gathered to witness this historic moment.
Officers and soldiers of the Indian Army were at the
forefront of the welcome, and it appeared as if the acrimony and mistrust ofthe
last decades had suddenly been forgotten.
Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner Khalid Hussain led
the group of passengers to the Indian side.
The passengers from the Pakistan side of Kashmir were
to join their counterparts from Srinagar for lunch at the Salamabad tourist
reception center. Enditem | 
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