| The Reluctant Bridegroom The April 6 attack has changed Pakistan's ambivalence towards the bus service into a firmer resolve to see that it continues. In PoK it has gathered a momentum of its own. Paradoxically, while the April 6 attack in Srinagar may have changed the mood of elation on both sides of the LoC about the historic bus service, it may also have made the Pakistan Government more resolute about pushing ahead with the peace process. Before the attack, the Pakistan Government was at pains to downplay what it saw as "over-importance" attached by the Indian Government to the first bus service between the two parts of divided Kashmir in over 50 years. Stung by the criticism of the hardliners such as the APHC's Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Qazi Hussain Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami-who criticised Pakistan for having sold out the Kashmir cause-government officials had consistently pointed out that the bus service was nothing more than a CBM.  | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | BON VOYAGE: The Srinagar-bound bus leaves Muzaffarabad, capital of PoK, with plenty of euphoria and an almost festive atmosphere | | "It is a step towards bridging the divide in Kashmir and aimed at reuniting separated families," said Foreign Office spokesperson Jaleel Abbas Jilani, "but it is certainly not the solution to the Kashmir problem." In fact, President Pervez Musharraf had earlier pointed out that such measures would come to nought if there was no progress in negotiations on the substantive issues regarding the disputed territory. The fear within the establishment was that the Indian Government would use the bus service to put the Kashmir issue on the back-burner by projecting it as a return to normalcy in the region. But the attack seems to have cleared the cobwebs in the minds of at least some officials even as it has been condemned by most people in Pakistan. "No religion in the world permits such violence. And what was the fault of these innocent civilians? That they wanted to meet their relatives, some of whom have been separated from them for three or four decades?" said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri. His reaction, in fact, echoed the feelings of most Kashmiris on the Pakistani side who had already condemned the threats by militants against the bus service. Unwilling to back down in the face of a direct challenge, the Pakistan Government reiterated that it would go ahead with the bus service according to schedule. As per plans, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan threw a dinner for the passengers departing from Muzaffarabad on the night of April 6. While the mood was grim because of the day's events, all passengers decided to continue with their travel plans. The bus finally set off from Muzaffarabad at 11 a.m. in a shower of rose petals. It left at the head of a long procession of cars and people who will possibly follow it all the way to Chakothi (about 61 km away). Earlier, flagging off the bus Hayat spoke on the need for movement on resolution of the Kashmir issue and for improving the human-rights situation in Indian Kashmir. But he also thanked Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for taking avid interest in the bus service. Hayat also directly addressed "those who still have reservations about the bus service", pointing out that they should not allow a golden opportunity to bring the two parts of Kashmir together to go abegging. "This is not the final destination in solving the Kashmir problem, but a step towards it," he said.
-By Hasan Zaidi with Ali Faisal Zaidi in Muzaffarabad | 
