Karvan-e-Aman bus leaves with 29 passengers to PoK

Srinagar, June 22: The Karvan-e-Aman bus today left with 29 passengers from here for Muzaffarabad under tight security arrangements, official sources said.

The passengers include 11 from the Kashmir valley who are travelling to Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), for the first time to meet their relatives there.

Eighteen passengers are returning to their homes in PoK after meeting their relatives here.

The Karvan-e-Aman bus service that started on April 7 last year, helped the divided families to meet each other after 57 years.

The first bus was flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The service was suspended after devastating earthquake on October 8 last year that damaged the Aman Setu, the bridge connecting two parts of Kashmir.

However, it took about three months to resume the service after the bridge was repaired by the Indian army, while Pakistan authorities repaired the road from Aman Setu to Muzaffarabad.

UNI