31 'Karvaan-e-Aman' passengers leave for PoK

Srinagar, Aug 11 (UNI) About 31 passengers left here for Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK) on board the ''Karvaan-e-Aman (Caravan of Peace)'' amid tight security arrangements, official sources said.

Seven passengers from here are going to PoK for the first time after the partition to meet their relatives while 24 passengers, who had come here in the Karvaan-e-Aman bus last month, also left for their homes in specially-designed 19-seater Ashok Leyland Stag State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses, sources said.

The buses left for PoK capital Muzaffarabad this morning. A large number of people, comprising relatives, friends and well-wishers sent off the passengers, they added.

Passengers will deboard the buses near Kaman Post, the last Indian military post on the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector and cross the Aman Setu brige on foot to reach the other side.

They will them board buses of PoK administration to reach Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.

Security forces scanned the entire stretch for possible landmines and boobytraps yesterday and this morning.

The cross-border bus service between the divided Kashmir was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 7, 2005 after nearly 58 years following the agreement between India and Pakistan to allow families separated since 1947 to meet each other.

The 170-km Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, also known as the Jhelum Valley road, was closed for traffic on October 27, 1947 when ''Kabailis (tribesmen)'' invaded parts of Jammu and Kashmir which came to be known as PoK.

UNI