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Bus service likely to aid militants: RSS

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
February 17, 2005 16:02 IST

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Thursday expressed concern about the starting a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid M Kasuri on Wednesday announced the bus service would start on April 7, 2005.

"We have still not got full details about the nature of agreement between India and Pakistan. We are waiting for Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran to spell them out on his return to India. The details that have come in so far indicate that the government is no longer insisting on passport as a travel document," Ram Madhav, RSS spokesman, told rediff.com.

Madhav questioned the manner in which the government handled

the issue.

"You are allowing visitors from either side to travel on an entry permit. That virtually amounts to endorsing Pakistan's claim on occupied Kashmir. The government should have addressed the security concerns because militants are likely to use this route to infiltrate and create terror in the Valley," he said.

However, Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People's Democratic Party, welcomed the 'historic' decision.

"Kashmir will be a bridge between India and Pakistan. This decision should have come years ago. I have been getting congratulatory messages from people in the Valley hailing the decision. Those who have been living apart for five decades will now be reunited," she said.

Also Read: 'Bus service a political compulsion'

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

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