India-Pakistan relations just got itself a new pair of wheels. In a move that could change the dynamics between Kashmiris living on either side of the LoC, the two countries have agreed to flag off a bus service on April 7 between Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This was jointly announced here on Wednesday by external affairs minister Natwar Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Khursheed Kasuri.

Not only this, the two sides have also agreed to work on a bus service between Amritsar and Lahore as well as to places of pilgrimage like Nankana Sahib. At the same time, the proposed rail link between Khokhrapar in Sindh and Munabao in Rajasthan got a fillip with Pakistan prime minister Shaukat Aziz accepting an Indian request and instructing the railway authorities to speed up preparations in Pakistan.

In short, more travel across the border, leading to more people-to-people contacts. Already the Indian mission here is clearing about 10,000 visas a month, and the number could now go up dramatically.

<B>To go across and meet relatives</B>

No passport or visa will be required for travel on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus. ?Travel will be by an entry permit system, once identities are established,? said the joint statement issued by Singh and Kasuri. The regional passport officer, Srinagar ? a ministry of external affairs functionary ? will grant permits to travellers coming from Pakistan, and the deputy commissioner, Muzaffarabad, to Indian visitors. The joint statement said the application forms for the entry permits would be available in Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.

Similarly, visitors from India taking the bus will be allowed to travel in PoK, Gilgit, Baltistan and the Northern Areas - in other words, to areas that defined the territories of undivided Kashmir ? but not beyond. Indications are that the service will be either weekly or fortnightly.

Briefing journalists, foreign secretary Shyam Saran said that this simplified procedure was a ?humanitarian? one, aimed at making it relatively hassle-free for the ordinary Kashmiri to go across and meet relatives and friends. He stressed that the arrangement was ?without prejudice to the position of either side on Kashmir?. In other words, the message was that don?t expect this to be the beginning for change in either nation?s stand on the status of Jammu and Kashmir. But if the bus service does indeed rev off, and more and more people from either side cross over and see things for themselves, it is certain to bring about a more realistic appreciation of life across the LoC and in the Valley. Over a period of time, this could alter the chemistry of the relationship between people living on either side.

It was probably with this in mind that Saran called this a ?win-win situation? for both countries. It?s also probably not to risk any dilution of this positive message that Singh and Kasuri refused to take any questions from journalists.

<B>Arindam SEN GUPTA</B> <B>Source: Times of India</B>

ANALYSIS

<B>How many bus rides needed? </B>

■ India and Pakistan have been full of mistrust ever since their birth as independent nations in 1947. They have fought several wars, lost too many lives and staked so much for so long. In such a depressing atmosphere, it takes immense amount of accommodation for two governments to agree to ply bus between the Kashmirs. The bus route linking Srinagar to Muzaffarabad signifies a new chapter in the relations between the two nations and is the most definite hint in recent times of a desire for peace in the region. India has for the past so many years accused Pakistan of sending militants across to its territory from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. And in all its allegations, internal reports and intelligence assessments, Muzaffarabad has always stood out like the headquarters of the Evil. The bus ride is only an insignificant relief in a terribly cruel world called Kashmir. It would take many such bus rides, and much bolder steps from both sides to bring permanent peace to what was termed by one of its most favourite emperors as the Paradise on Earth. Over the past 15 years, anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 lives have been lost. While India with its strong democracy, growing global economic imperatives and emerging political consensus over international relations may find it easier to stay on course to peace, the challenge to Kashmir?s dreams would emerge ultimately from Pakistan.Given its internal crisis, lack of democracy, growing clout of Islamic extremism and truants among ISI, Pakistan would find it hard to push through with the agenda of peace. As it stands today, situation in Kashmir is far better than it has ever been in recent memory. Infiltration is drastically down, violence is slowly falling and democracy is finding firm roots despite violence. But any drastic change in the course of action could plunge the sub-continent into darker times. That is what the two sides need to watch out for. And that is what the Kashmiris are worried every momentof their uncertain lives.

<B>Josy JOSEPH</B>