ISLAMABAD, March 28: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan on Monday said the AJK government would provide free tickets and meal to the passengers of the first Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus. Talking to Voice of America, he said the government would also provide the same facilities to the passengers of the first bus coming to Muzaffarabad from Srinagar. “I myself will welcome the passengers coming from Srinagar,” he said.

He said all arrangements like repair of road and construction of the bus terminal at this side of the LoC had been completed.

In reply to a question, he said the start of the bus service could be a first step towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

He said no resolution of the issue could prove durable without inclusion of the people of Kashmir in its process.

IMPACT REVIEWED: The impact of the bus service on the situation in occupied Kashmir was reviewed at a meeting in New Delhi.—Agencies