Buses set off from the capitals of Indian and Pakistani Kashmir yesterday, carrying passengers bound for the other side of the divided territory for first time in nearly 60 years, in a major boost for the peace process between the nuclear rivals.

In Pakistani Kashmir, passengers boarded a green and yellow bus bound in the other direction across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir. ?The caravan of peace has started,? Singh told thousands of Kashmiris who had gathered in a heavily guarded stadium in Srinagar in freezing rain.

?Nothing can stop it.? Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir have threatened to kill passengers and turn the bus into a coffin.

Less than a day before the buses left, two heavily armed militants stormed and set on fire the compound where the passengers were sheltering in Srinagar. The militants were killed and six people were injured. All passengers were unharmed. Security in Indian Kashmir was the tightest for years, including during the 2002 state election. Threats by Islamic rebels have created a deep sense of unease but also defiance among Kashmiris determined to see the service succeed.

?A door has opened,? said Singh, in a blue turban, speaking behind bullet-proof glass. ?Pakistan and especially President General Pervez Musharraf have helped us open this door and without their support, the door would not have opened.?

?This is the beginning of a new phase in the continuing friendship with Pakistan,? said Singh. ?Violence is not going to solve any problems.? Most of the passengers in Srinagar were elderly men with white beards and skullcaps, and women with scarves over their heads, desperate to see family they have not seen in decades.

In Muzaffarabad, passengers said they were determined to travel despite the threats. ?There is a risk but I am taking the risk so that this bus is the first step towards a resolution of Kashmir,? said Sharif Hussain Bukhari, a retired judge going back after 55 years to see his sister and cousins.

<B>Travelling despite the threats</B>

?The Line of Control could fall like the Berlin Wall.? The 170 km (105 mile) bus link to Muzaffarabad in Pakistani Kashmir represents a small concession for families separated by conflict since 1947 but also carries hopes of a big boost to a cautious peace process, a week before Musharraf travels to New Delhi for talks.

?We are absolutely prepared. We are safe, Inshallah (God willing) it will be a smooth journey,? a top Indian security official said. The South Asian neighbours have fought two wars over mainly Muslim Kashmir and were on the verge of a third in 2002 before pulling back from the brink.

Islamic rebels say the bus would only serve Indian aims to hold on to Kashmir and its passengers were insulting the 15-year insurgency by making the journey. The rebel groups claimed responsibility for Wednesday?s suicide attack, which left the yellow tourist complex building in the heart of Srinagar?s high-security zone a charred ruin and was seen as a major embarrassment to New Delhi.

As Indian and Pakistani leaders vowed not to be cowed, the United States described the attack as ?a wanton act of terror on a powerful symbol of rapprochement between India and Pakistan?. The entire 120-km (75-mile) mountain road from Srinagar to the frontier was lined with soldiers even before the suicide attack but rebels managed to set off a bomb by the road on Tuesday, wounding seven highway workers.

In Srinagar, a scenic lakeside city ringed by snow-tipped mountains, soldiers closed roads, put up barricades, stepped up patrols and checked vehicles in the runup to the bus send-off.

Indian newspapers said the militants, who include foreign fighters, had misjudged the mood in Kashmir. ?History and all peace-loving Kashmiri people will not forgive India and Pakistan if their governments cower before terrorist thugs,? The Times of India said in an editorial titled ?Don?t Get off the Bus?.

Kashmiris, who have defied violence from all sides for years, are determined. ?Nothing is going to happen to the bus or the passengers. We won?t let it,? says Abdul Aziz Mir, a 57-year-old contractor from the hamlet of Red Bridge, near the ceasefire line deep in the mountains. ?Even without weapons, the people will protect it. Now is a time to rejoice.?

<B>Terry FRIEL</B>

SECURITY

<B>Rebels fail to stop ?caravan of peace? </B>

■ Separatists tried, firing two rifle grenades at one of the Muzaffarabad-bound buses soon after it left. But no one was hurt, the bus was not hit and did not stop. Two guerrillas also staged a suicide attack on a fortified government complex housing the passengers on Wednesday just a few hundred metres from the Lion of Kashmir stadium.

They torched the complex. The passengers escaped, although five have since pulled out, including two who got off almost as soon as the buses started. As the passengers, many elderly, boarded, the complex continued to smoulder nearby. In commemorative green caps, they waved as the two white-and-green buses draped with marigolds pulled out. One hundred and seventy kilometres (105 miles) away by road in Muzaffarabad, wellwishers threw rose petals as garlanded passengers boarded a green-and-yellow bus for the ?Peace Bridge? ? newly repainted a neutral white.

A large billboard greeted passengers at the Peace Bridge with the message: ?No religion teaches animosity towards each other.? Security in Indian Kashmir was the tightest for years, including during the 2002 state election. Threats by rebels have created a deep sense of unease but also defiance among Kashmiris determined to see the service succeed and families reunited. ?A door has opened,? said Singh, in his trademark blue turban, speaking behind bullet-proof glass. ?Pakistan and especially President General Pervez Musharraf have helped us open this door and without their support, the door would not have opened.?