98 Kashmir bus passengers cross LoC

Srinagar, Dec 7: As many as 98 passengers crossed sides at the ''Kaman Aman Setu (Peace Bridge)'' along the Line of Control (LoC) on board the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus yesterday, official sources said today.

Altogether 47 passengers -- 20 fresh and 27 returnee -- left here for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on board the ''Karvaan-e-Aman (Caravan of Peace)''.

Similarly, 51 passengers -- 25 fresh and 26 returnee -- arrived here from Muzaffarabad.

The cross-border bus service between the divided Kashmir was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from here on April 7, 2005 after nearly 58 years following an agreement reached 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