Poonch-Rawalakot cross-LoC bus service suspended amid terror tension

The weekly Poonch-Rawalakot cross-LoC bus service was suspended Monday in view of the prevailing law and order situation in Jammu, following the recent terror attack on a CRPF convoy in south Kashmir, a senior officer said. A curfew was imposed in Jammu city on Friday following massive anti-Pakistan protests and sporadic incidents of violence over the terror attack in Pulwama district, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead on Thursday.

"The cross-LoC (Line of Control) bus service was suspended in view of the prevailing law and order situation," Poonch District Development Commissioner Rahul Yadav told PTI. The passengers were accordingly informed well in time about the suspension of the service, he said.

On the cross-LoC trade, Yadav said it will not take place on Tuesday due to a public holiday on account of Guru Ravi Das's birthday. "The decision to carry on the trade between the two sides will be taken on Wednesday after a review of the situation," he said.

The trade via Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district on this side and Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) takes place from Tuesday to Friday every week. Billed as the biggest confidence-building measure, the bus service was started on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route in Kashmir on April 7, 2005, and the Poonch-Rawalakot route in the Jammu region on June 20, 2006, to facilitate easier trade and travel between the divided families of Jammu and Kashmir and PoK.

The trade, which works on the barter system, between the divided parts started in October 2008.