First bus passengers in nearly 60 years cross Kashmir divide

For the first time in nearly 60 years, Pakistan and India exchanged bus passengers in divided Kashmir on Thursday, despite threats from Islamic insurgents. The historic bus service, which has come to symbolize a 14-month-old peace process between the two countries, carried 30 passengers from Muzaffarabad to the Line of Control splitting the Himalayan territory, where they were met by Indian dignitaries, reported Agence France Presse. An attack by militants on a guest house in Srinagar on Wednesday, where passengers were being protected, was the latest attempt to halt the service. Bus services between the two cities ceased in 1947 following unrest from the division of India and Pakistan at the end of British rule.