CHAKOTHI, Feb 21: The army will clear anti-personnel mines dotting a portion of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus route on the Azad Jammu and Kashmir side within a week, once clearance is given by Islamabad, an army official said on Monday.

"The day we are given the go-ahead signal, we will start the lifting of mines from the very next morning. The process is only subject to clearance by higher authorities," Chakothi Sector Commander Brigadier Naushad Ahmed said.

The commander spoke to reporters at a spot along the Line of Control in the Chakothi sector, some 61 kilometres south of the state capital Muzaffarabad. The spot, at an altitude of 3,545 feet, overlooks the footbridge over the water channel that marks the dividing line in Kashmir.

Some Indian army bunkers and the road to Srinagar, which winds through the mountains on the other side of the LoC, were also visible to the naked eye from that spot. "There are some modalities which remain to be finalized.

As soon as they are finalized, the issue of mine lifting will be decided at the level of DG military operations of both countries," Brig Ahmed said. "Both the troops are facing each other and will start mine lifting simultaneously under the agreement," he added.

He said mines were planted over a small patch and once they started the job they would be able to remove them within a week. The brigadier said that unless the mines were removed the equipment for installation of the bridge and construction or widening of the track could not be started.

AJK Chief Secretary Kashif Murtaza told reporters on the occasion that he was quite sure that his public works department team would be able to make the road and a bus terminal operational by April.

He said: "If the need arose, we may hire the services of the Frontier Works Organization," and added, "We will utilize our full resources and manpower so that the movement of the people between the two parts is made the smoothest."

Earlier, the chief secretary also gave instructions to PWD officials in Chakothi on the proposed bus terminal, estimated to be built at a cost of Rs14 million. He said that since it was impossible to build a solid structure within such a short time, therefore the department would go for some pre-fabricated structure.

Earlier in Muzaffarabad, the chief secretary told reporters in his office that the construction material for the Balley Bridge to be installed over the water channel marking the LoC had arrived at a port in Pakistan and would be transported to Chakothi within the next couple of days.

However, he pointed out that until the de-mining operation was carried out installation of the bridge would be impossible. He claimed, "On our part, the Pakistani army has already issued directions along with a timeframe for de-mining. Perhaps, the Indians have also done likewise."

He also said that the Special Communications Organization would lay optical fibres and erect a booster in the Chakothi sector before April 7 so as to provide direct dialling telephone facility to the visitors in that area.