8 April 2005	Friday	28 Safar 1426

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CHAKOTHI, April 7: Heart-warming scenes of reunion of close relatives separated for over five decades were witnessed as a group of people from Azad Kashmir and another from Indian-occupied part crossed on Thursday the heavily militarized Line of Control that divides their land. Passengers from Azad Kashmir crossed the Opi bridge built recently by Indian forces at about 1.25pm after travelling to the border checkpost in a lime green and golden bus for the state capital of Muzaffarabad.

One of the passengers, Begum Zamurrad Sharif, 70, crossed the bridge on a wheelchair while others walked waving to people on both sides.

Across the bridge, they were welcomed with garlands by held Kashmir’s chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and other dignitaries.

“I am really happy. Honestly speaking I can’t express my joy in words, although I deal with words,” said Fareeda Ghani, a journalist working at the UN, before setting foot on the bridge. Ms Ghani was four years old when her parents were forced to leave Kashmir under the orders of the Shaikh Abdullah government in 1949. “My father, my mother and my brother yearned to visit Kashmir and died. Today I am converting their dreams into reality,” she told Dawn.

Nisar Mir, who was nine when he migrated from occupied Poonch, said he was overjoyed at getting this historic chance to revisit his birthplace. Passenger Ziaul Haq was equally ecstatic. “Staying for a night in Dal Lake is my dream which is going to materialise in my visit,” he said.

A former AJK secretary, Syed Akram Shah, has no relatives on the other side, but he said for him every Kashmiri was relative.

Earlier, in Muzaffarabad, around 2,000 people attended the flagging-off ceremony, held under a canopy erected on green lawns in front of the High Court. Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat attended the ceremony. The passengers first went to the city bus terminal where formalities were completed and their baggage was checked.

The AJK premier welcomed the launching of the bus service as a historic step. However, he said, two buses in a month could not provide relief to the Kashmiris. He called for an air service and opening of all other natural land routes between the two parts of Kashmir. He said the bus service was not the solution of the Kashmir problem, but a step towards the solution. He asked the opponents of the move to demonstrate practical wisdom. “For over 50 years, the LoC could not be crossed with guns and now if that objective is being achieved through a political process, it is our historic success.”

Mr Hayat also appreciated the important role of international community in the ongoing dialogue process (between India and Pakistan) and for the launching of the bus service “though silent diplomacy” and expressed the hope they would remain involved in the process and work in cooperation with the Kashmiris.

The premier also drew world attention towards flagrant human rights violations in held Kashmir and said unless the situation in the held territory was improved steps like bus service would fail to create any positive impact.

He thanked President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for making the bus service possible. He also congratulated Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi but urged that they should read the writings on the wall. The AJK premier also asked the Indian government to provide security to passengers from his area.

Along the route of the bus, thousands of people, men, women and children, had assembled outside small towns and villages, who waved to the passengers and shouted slogans. At many places, students showered flower petals on the bus.

At about 4pm, 19 travellers from Indian-held Kashmir, wearing green caps gifted to them by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, crossed the bridge and entered Azad Kashmir.

The chairperson of ruling party in held Kashmir, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, accompanied them up to the end of the bridge. She stayed there for a few minutes and then returned.

A big billboard facing the bridge gave a meaningful message to the travellers from the other side. It read: “From home to home, we extend a very warm welcome to our brethren from Kashmir.”

The passengers were brought to the Chakothi terminal in the bus, where their relatives and the AJK prime minister received them. They were given gifts by the AJK government.

“I am very happy. I am literally running short of words to express my jubilation,” said Zainul Abideen Shah, one of whose relatives broke into tears while hugging him. “I owe a debt of gratitude to the people on both sides who have lifted our spirits by according us this rousing welcome,” he added.

Raja Naseer Khan said the purpose of their visit was only to see their relatives. “If some one thinks that we have struck any deal, it’s wrong. We have nothing to do with politics,” he said.

The passengers from held Kashmir were accorded a warm welcome as they travelled to Muzaffarabad from the Chakothi bus terminal. They later attended a dinner hosted by the AJK PM at his official residence.