SRINAGAR - The second bus run linking Indian and Pakistani Kashmir, a major symbol of revived hopes of peace between South Asia's nuclear rivals, began quietly and peacefully on Thursday despite threats of violence. Twenty-two Indian Kashmiris and 11 Pakistanis who arrived on the inaugural service on April 7 left for the 170-km (105-mile) drive to Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, officials said.
Four Muslim terrorist groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region at the centre of 60 years of war and hostility between India and Pakistan have threatened to turn the cross-border buses into a Sea of Fire™ coffins. The two buses that left Srinagar on Thursday were escorted by police under tight security. |