ON THE LINE OF CONTROL, Kashmir, April 7, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Buses laden with flower garlands and cheered by hundreds of well wishers set off from the Indian and Pakistani capitals of Kashmir Thursday, April 7, for the first time in almost 60 years.

The bus service, a powerful symbol of the 14-month-old thaw in relations between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, began under tight security following an attack Wednesday, April 6, on a guest house where passengers were being protected in Srinagar, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Flagging off the service in Srinagar, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the bus a “caravan of amity.”

“Today is a day of happiness for us,” Singh said behind a bullet-proof glass enclosure in Srinagar's Sheri Kashmir stadium.

“I expect with my friends in Pakistan that we work together. India is ready to hold the hand of Pakistan so that together we can work together and start a new era of peace and tranquillity.”

Thirty passengers from the Pakistani zone were first to arrive at the 220-foot (67-metre) Kaman Bridge straddling the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border splitting the Himalayan territory, where they were garlanded by Indian dignitaries as they crossed over Thursday.

Their lime green and gold bus had left Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, around two-and-a-half hours earlier.

The green gate on the Pakistani side was flung open as the bus stopped at the bridge.

Pakistani and Kashmir flags fluttered in the air as officials raised white flags when the passengers alighted from the bus.

Just over two hours later, a total of 21 people, according to Indian officials at the LoC, crossed the bridge into the Pakistani zone after travelling in two buses from Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, to an equally lively reception from Pakistani officials.

Hayat Khan (R) greets an Indian Kashmiri upon arrival.

In Muzaffarabad, the Pakistani sector’s Prime Minister Sikandar Hayat welcomed the start of the bus service as “a historic step”.

“I hope that they (Indian leaders) read the writing on the wall and fulfil their responsibility with regard to international politics. We are grateful to President Pervez Musharraf,” he said.

The whole of scenic, mountain-bordered Muzaffarabad was decorated to mark the journey, as people lined the rooftops to wave off the bus.

Passenger Zia Sardar, 37, a lawyer from the Pakistan zone told AFP on crossing Kaman Bridge: “I think I have achieved the objective of my life. Kashmir is my mother and I am meeting my mother.”

Another passenger 63-year-old Akram Shah, said: “It was my biggest desire and it has been fulfilled.”

A former lawmaker in Pakistani Kashmir, Zamarud Begum, 75, crossed the bridge in a wheelchair.

Singh, flagging off the Kashmir bus in Srinagar.

Police, meanwhile, said early Thursday they had found a large bomb planted along the route. They later reported four people, including a policeman, were injured by a powerful blast that occurred in a closed shop barely 10 minutes after the bus had crossed the main market of Pattan, 27 kilometres (16 miles) from Srinagar.

Security across the region was tightened after the attack as none of the passengers was harmed but eight people were injured before India’s security forces shot dead the two attackers, AFP said.

Four militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir who last week warned Kashmiris not to ride the bus claimed responsibility in calls to local newspapers, according to AFP.

Bus services between the two cities were suspended in 1947 amid the chaos that followed the partition of India and Pakistan after gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Both India and Pakistan engaged in a deadly war over the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir.

From April 1948 to 1957, the UN passed a series of resolutions, affirming the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir in accordance with a referendum to be held under international auspices.

But India considers all of Kashmir to be an integral part of its soil, and often makes statements domestically about acquiring the Pakistani half, known in Pakistan as ‘Azad’ (free Kashmir).

The Pakistani leadership repeatedly indicated willingness to accept alternatives such as a demilitarized Kashmir, if sovereignty of Azad Kashmir was to be extended over the Kashmir valley by which India would retain parts of Kashmir on its side of the Chenab river, and Pakistan the other side.

Geographically, Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas, Pakistan and Azad Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir).

Both countries routinely exchange fire along the 750 kilometer (465 miles) Line of Control and their 230 kilometer (143 mile) international borders until November 26, 2003, when ceasefire was agreed between the two countries and is still holding.