Islamabad, May 11
Carrying the peace process forward, India and Pakistan today agreed in principle to run bus services between Amritsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, but deferred their operationalisation by two months to work out more technical details.
On the first day of the talks yesterday, the two countries had decided to start “at the earliest” a bus service between Lahore and Amritsar.
While one more technical-level talks would be held in New Delhi to run the Amritsar-Lahore bus service in two months’ time, the two sides agreed in “principle” to start the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service, a joint statement issued at the end of the two-day talks said here.
The modalities and frequency of the proposed Amritsar-Nankana Sahib service would be discussed at a subsequent technical-level meeting to be held in New Delhi in two months’ time, it said.
Mr Alok Rawat, Joint Secretary of Road Transport and Highways, who headed the Indian delegation, and his Pakistani counterpart, Mr Muhammad Abbas, said at a joint press conference at the end of talks that the bus service would be started after the next round of parleys.
Though it was not announced, officials from the two sides have worked out modalities for fare structure and frequency of the Amritsar-Lahore bus service. Both sides agreed in principle to run the Amritsar-Lahore bus service once a week. The fare was decided as Rs 750 from the Indian side and Rs 900 from Pakistan.
— PTI
