Bus Line Bridges Kashmiri Divide

With a short walk over a white bridge, 49 Pakistanis and Indians overcame half a century of conflict Thursday to forge a new link across the Kashmiri divide.

For the first time since the end of British rule in 1947, travelers crossed this heavily fortified frontline in peace, a major step toward ending a dispute that has fueled international terrorism, sparked two wars and a guerrilla insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people.

But on the first day of bus service between the Pakistani and Indian capitals of Kashmir, militant threats and a grenade attack were stark reminders that peace will not come easily. Two grenades were fired at the Pakistan-bound buses near the Indian town of Pattan. They missed, but two passengers asked to get off soon afterward. Overall, only 19 of the 29 Indians approved for the first trip to Pakistan made the journey.

A full quota of 30 Pakistanis were the first to cross this single-lane bridge at 2 p.m. Thursday, half an hour after Indian troops opened the gate on their side. To the skirl of Indian army bagpipers, a delegation of senior politicians, police and soldiers greeted the Pakistanis with marigold garlands, handshakes and hugs.

Pakistani lawyer Shahid Bahar, one of the first two travelers to cross the 220-foot bridge, knelt down to kiss the ground of Indian Kashmir, which his father fled in 1948 during a war between India and Pakistan that left Kashmir divided.

With tears in his eyes and his voice breaking, Bahar said he was eager to see the land where his father once lived.

Another Pakistani visitor, Farida Gani, said her father, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature, was expelled from Indian Kashmir in 1949 because of his nationalist views.

Gani said it felt great to be in Indian Kashmir, but that a more open frontline dividing Kashmir shouldn’t be used to distract attention from the need for a broader political solution.

“This will just be a palliative if all that matters is forgotten,” she said. “I have my doubts it will lead to a settlement, but it’s a start. You have to take the first step.”

The new bus service between Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, and Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, is scheduled to run once in both directions every 15 days. Hard-line Kashmiri separatists see the bus link as an Indian attempt to avoid a negotiated solution to their demand for independence or union with Pakistan.

Militants threatened to kill anyone who used the bus link.

But on the Indian side Thursday, thousands of cheering people lined the 75-mile route from the bridge to Srinagar to welcome the first visitors to cross from Pakistani Kashmir. As Indian troops and police stood watch, many defiantly shouted, “Long live Pakistan!” and “We want freedom!”

A few of the 29 Indian passengers approved for travel by Pakistani authorities didn’t pick up their tickets. Several more withdrew Wednesday after militants attacked a government compound where passengers were staying under armed guard, and two got off the bus after the failed grenade attack.

Fatima Begum, 50, and her husband traveled to Muzaffarabad to see their daughter for the first time in 16 years. She said she didn’t want to get caught up in politics.

“We are not going there to make a final decision on the Kashmir issue, but only to meet our daughter,” she said.

Thousands of Muzaffarabad residents came out to welcome their guests from the Indian side. Some were moved to tears.

“I feel that I have arrived in heaven,” said Raja Naseeruddin, who came to Pakistani Kashmir to meet his niece Naureen Arif.

Leaving Indian Kashmir, Naseeruddin and the other visitors were greeted at the bridge by a low-key delegation of Pakistani officials and a large billboard that declared: “From home to home. We extend a very warm welcome to our Kashmiri brethren.”

Authorities in India and Pakistan carefully screen ticket applicants. All civilian vehicles were banned from the 75-mile route through Indian Kashmir on Thursday in an extraordinarily tight security operation that still failed to prevent a militant attack.

Authorities can’t mount such a complex security operation every two weeks, so it will be very difficult to keep the bus route safe.

The original Kaman Bridge first opened to motorized transport in 1906, but Indian troops blew it up in 1948 when they were retreating from advancing Pakistani forces. Indian army engineers erected the new steel span in eight hours on March 20 as they rushed to get the crossing ready for the first visitors.

Mohammed Anwar-ul-Haq Qasmi, 35, made the crossing to meet his sisters and brothers after 18 years of separation.

“This violence shall end,” he said. “We should sit together to find a permanent solution. This bus service will help in removing the confusions and misunderstandings, and the love bonds between the two sides will be stronger.”

*

Times staff writer Watson reported from Kaman Bridge and special correspondent Tak from Salamabad, India. Special correspondent Mubashir Zaidi in Muzaffarabad contributed to this report.