Kashmir Buses

Two new bus services linking Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir for Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. The new service has been hailed as a major boost to India and Pakistan’s developing peace process. The inaugural service on 7 April was the first in nearly 60 years. Before you get too excited, it is still dangerous to visit this region and there is heavy security all along the route including decoy buses, escorted by the police and parafamilies forces. The historic bus services has been welcomed by most Kashmiris, many of whom have been divided by the decades-long conflict. Many of them have defied the militants’ call to avoid boarding the bus. “The desire to meet separated relatives is proving stronger than the fear of death,” a trader in Srinagar, Zaffar Ahmed, told the BBC News.