The Poonch-Rawalakot Bus is a
cross-border
Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...
transport service that connects
Poonch in
Indian-administered Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. The term has since ...
with
Rawalakot
Rawalakot () is the capital of Poonch District, Pakistan, Poonch district in Pakistan–administered Azad Kashmir, in the disputed Kashmir region. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range.
History 1947 Poonch rebellion
On 15 June 1947, Sarda ...
in
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger ...
. The service was inaugurated on 21 June 2006, serving as an important confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.
History
The bus service was launched after the success of the
Muzaffarabad to Srinagar bus service which started on 7 April 2005. Initially launched as a fortnightly service, in August 2008, buses began to operate weekly. The Poonch-Rawalakot bus service was started on 6 June 2006.
Suspension and resumption
The bus service has experienced interruptions due to conflicts and tensions along the
LoC
LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to:
Places
* Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania
* Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary
* Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the end ...
. Despite these challenges, it has demonstrated its resilience by restarting operations following such events. Now it has been suspended from 2019.
Impact
The bus service has acted as a bridge, reconnecting countless Kashmiris separated by the Line of Control (LoC). By April 2011, this service had enabled 15,000 Kashmiris to traverse this divide. This service has also played a pivotal role in enhancing diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan.
See also
*
Delhi–Lahore Bus
The Delhi–Lahore Bus, officially known as Sada-e-Sarhad (Translation: ''Call of the Frontier, ; )'', is a passenger bus service connecting the Indian capital of New Delhi, Delhi with the city of Lahore, Pakistan via the border transit post a ...
*
Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus
The Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus (, ) is a passenger bus service connecting Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani-administered territory of ...
References
Transport in Jammu and Kashmir
Bus transport in India
Bus transport in Pakistan
India–Pakistan relations
Transport in Azad Kashmir
2006 establishments in India
2006 establishments in Pakistan
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