M A I N   N E W S

Musharraf, Manmohan together on hoardings

Srinagar, April 2
The spirit of bilateral bonhomie between Pakistan and India has been taken to another level altogether ever since the governments of the two countries agreed on February 16 to restart the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.

If in one week there are reports of markets being spruced up on the historic route, on other days there are reports of all and sundry joining hands to reconstruct the roads and bridges that fall along the route. This week, apple growers have said that they will be sending six cartons of apples each to leaders in Pakistan and India, including Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The widely anticipated bus service has also led to people in Srinagar putting up hoardings of President Musharraf and Dr Manmohan Singh at key thoroughfares of Srinagar. This is happening for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that hoardings of President Musharraf have been put up in the streets of Srinagar under the aegis of the state government.

The hoardings display the pictures of President Musharraf together with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Residents say the recent bus service from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad can be seen a reason for this positive change.

“The bus service is going to start from April 7. I never thought that a board of any Pakistani President would be put up here. This is the first time I am seeing so,”said Abdul Salaam, a contractor. Locals of the area are surprised over the move of the state government.

“We have seen the photograph of President Musharraf and Dr Manmohan Singh. We never expected this to happen, that President Musharraf’s photograph has been displayed on a hoarding in Kashmir.It is a miracle for us”,said Abdul Rashid, another local. With just five days left for the bus service to start, Srinagar wears a totally new look. Almost everything has and is being renovated or painted for the historic occassion.

Srinagar and Muzaffarabad are two important cities of Kashmir.

There was free movement of people between various parts of Kashmir before 1947. For example there was a service Srinagar Rawalpindi Transport (SRT) which plied buses between Srinagar and Rawalpindi passing through Muzaffarabad. There were similar bus services between Sialkot and Jammu. Srinagar is less than 150 to 170 km from Muzaffarabad, but the people of these two cities are required to go through a lengthy procedure before obtaining permission to travel between these two cities. — ANI