MUZAFFARABAD: A bus service between the capitals of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) will roll out on Thursday (today), in what is being hailed as a historic step by both sides to re-establish the missing linkages between the two parts of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir after more than seven decades.

In Muzaffarabad, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas will flag off the bus, which is most likely to be received in Gilgit by GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan, official sources said. Both Mr Ilyas and Mr Khurshid have held a number of meetings in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad to discuss plans and procedures to strengthen ties between the two regions.

Allotment of land for construction of GB House in Muzaffarabad and Kashmir House in Gilgit and serious efforts to construct the 12.6km-long Shounter Tunnel, connecting AJK’s Neelum valley to GB’s Astore, were reflection of their preference for the same, according to the sources.

Early this month, both leaders had announced that a bus service between AJK and GB would be launched on Pakistan Day.

The announcement had drawn wide appreciation on social media platforms.

“23rd March 2023 is a history-making day for the parts of [the erstwhile state of Jammu and] Kashmir, due to the start of [a] bus service between Muzaffarabad and Gilgit for the first time in history. Well done Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan Sahib,” tweeted Khan Ahmed, in what was one of the several posts by the netizens on the issue.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2023