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.