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Tearful reunion as Kashmir bus reaches India's hotspot Srinagar
Pakistani passengers on the first bus service to link divided Kashmir in nearly 60 years wept as they embraced relatives they had not seen in decades in the insurgency-wracked hub of Indian-held Kashmir.
Military bands struck up Bollywood numbers on the banks of the picturesque Dal Lake as the trans-Kashmir bus arrived in Srinagar where flower-draped gondolas were kept ready for the visitors.
Firecrackers and cheering greeted the visitors after the green-colored bus had completed its journey from Pakistan-administered Kashmir through the windy route to India, marking a historic journey that bolstered the step-by-step peace process between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.
Srinagar is the summer capital of Indian-held Kashmir and is the hub of an anti-Indian rebellion which has been raging in Kashmir since 1989.
Some of the visitors were clearly delirious with joy as they reunited with families last seen decades ago.
"I am coming to Srinagar after 35 years as despite all my attempts I could not get a visa from India to come and see my brother in Srinagar," said Ishar Ahmed Bhatt, a physician from Pakistani Kashmir who came on board the historic bus.
"I have not met his children. I have not met our father for all these years. Oh. I tried so hard for 35 years. Oh, Allah! I am so fortunate," Bhatt said, first weeping and then bursting into laughter.
"Good things are happening between India and Pakistan. No more lives will be divided," said Bhatt, who took the bus to attend a wedding of a nephew.
In Indian Kashmir, almost all families have been touched by tragedy and residents warned the visitors to prepare for hard reality when they try to seek out the family roots in the turbulent region where fighting between Indian troops and rebels is a daily occurence.
"It may be too late, too little for some of these guests and many will find some of their relatives they have not seen in... graves," said Begum Fatima Bibi, a Srinagar housewife.
A bus carrying 21 passengers arrived earlier Thursday evening in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, after having been flagged off from Srinagar by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The passengers crossed into each other's territory at Kaman Bridge spanning the Line of Control, the de facto border splitting the Himalayan region, which was once a main target for artillery duels between the rival armies.
The buses, accompanied by heavy security escort including armored vehicles and a security detail involving ten of thousands of heavily-armed troops, were greeted by thousands as they wound through villages along the 160 kilometer (100 mile) route. |
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