6 months on, Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service remains suspended

The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, also known as Karwan-e-Aman, remains suspended continues to remain suspended almost six months after it was put off in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, also known as Karwan-e-Aman, continues to remain suspended as relations between India and Pakistan see no improvement.

The weekly bus service, which connects Srinagar to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), was suspended on March 4 earlier this year following the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were martyred. The bus service has not been resumed since then.

"In view of the prevailing situation in Kashmir (Valley) and repairing of the Aman Setu (the bridge connecting Srinagar with Muzaffarabad) by Pakistan authorities on their side, the Karwan-e-Aman bus service could not be resumed," a Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) official said on condition of anonymity.

"However, the JKSRTC made special arrangements for the safe return of residents of both sides who got held up due to suspension of service in the third week of March," the official added.

The bus service was started in April 2005 as part of the confidence-building measures between New Delhi and Islamabad to facilitate the meeting between families divided by the Line of Control (LoC).

Tensions are currently high between India and Pakistan due to the revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.

Read: Landlines still not restored in Kashmir valley