19 February 2005	Saturday	09 Muharram 1426

NEW DELHI, Feb 18: When the first bus rolls across the fortified frontier dividing Kashmir in April it will be 'more than just a ticket to ride' for separated families.

It will also be a potent symbol for peace between India and Pakistan, analysts say. The decision by Pakistan and India to start a bus service across the boundary is greeted by shouts of joy from Kashmiris on both sides of the line of control.

"It's more than just a bus, it's a major development in relations between Indian and Pakistan," said Kalim Bahadur, a South Asian expert at New Delhi's Jawarharlal Nehru University. "It meets the emotional needs of the Kashmiri people wrenched apart by nearly six decades of hostility."

The service, to start on April 7, is the first tangible fruit of 13 months of dialogue between the neighbours. "Although not a major solution of any problem, it's a confidence-building measure. If this present process can be followed forward then we can expect greater progress," Mr Bahadur said.

Just how potent a symbol of peace the decision to launch the service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar is can be judged from the reaction of militant groups fighting Indian occupation. "The service is being started to finish off the ongoing freedom struggle in Kashmir," Jamiatul Mujahideen's field commander General Umar said.

Militant groups say the bus service will not settle the core political dispute that has caused decades of bloodshed in the former princely state. However, Abdul Ghani Bhat, a pro-independence leader in occupied Kashmir, called it 'a significant step' to a permanent, peaceful solution.

In particular, analysts say it marks a step toward a so-called 'soft border' to allow thousands of Kashmiri families to reunite for the first time since the territory was split between India and Pakistan in 1948. "When roads are opened, destiny comes closer," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said after the deal was announced. -AFP