Amritsar, January 21
The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) luxury inaugural coach, Dosti, today returned to Lahore without any Indian passengers on board as common passengers stayed away from the Amritsar-Lahore bus, thanks to irritating security concerns and ‘‘communication gap’’.

Only 13 Pakistan officials, media persons and two PTDC drivers, who had come on the inaugural Lahore-Amritsar bus yesterday returned home in the same coach.

The 64-km-long return journey commenced from the international bus terminal here at 10.30 am, one- and-a-half-hour behind schedule. Expressing concern over the development, Mr Adeshpartap Singh, a former Akali minister, attributed this to the lack of coordination among various government departments.

He said the announcement of doing away with ‘‘security vetting’’ of the passengers had come too late. The condition of purchasing tickets 15 days in advance still amounted to suspicion and this was becoming a hurdle in the way of making people-to-people contact really meaningful. The Centre had unwittingly hurt Punjabi sensitivities by treating the state as a disturbed area like Jammu & Kashmir, he added.

The Excise and Taxation Minister, Mr Sardool Singh, Mr Raj Kumar and Mr Sunil Dutti, Mayor Municipal Corporation reached before 9 am to bid adieu to the passengers but the bus was late as Pak officials reached the International Bus Terminal late.

Pakistan officials and journalists went around Amritsar and enjoyed the hospitality of people and different delicacies. They said they were bowled over by the love and affection given to them during their stay in Amritsar.