New Delhi, December 21
Taking yet another step to enhance people-to-people contact, India and Pakistan today decided to launch the long-awaited Amritsar-Lahore bus service from January 20 and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus link by February 27.The agreements on launching the bus services were signed in Lahore today after the third round of two-day technical-level talks.
The Amritsar-Lahore service will be operational once a week with the Pakistani side running the inaugural bus from Lahore to Amritsar on January 20, said a joint statement issued after the talks in Lahore and here simultaneously.
The agreement to launch the service was finalised at the second round of technical-level talks held in New Delhi in September.
The Indian side will ply its first bus from Amritsar to Lahore on January 24, it said.
The Indian bus will ply from Amritsar to Lahore on every Tuesday and return on Wednesday while the Pakistani bus will ply from Lahore to Amritsar on every Friday and return on Saturday.
The one-way fare would be Pakistani Rs 900 and Indian Rs 750.
The two countries also signed an agreement for the operationalisation of the bus service between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib. The trial run will be conducted on January 27 from Amritsar and on January 29 from Nankana Sahib.
Regular operation of the bus service would commence within a month from the trial run.
For the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service, the one-way fare would be Pakistani Rs 1,200 and Indian Rs
1,000. — PTI
