GANDHINAGAR, Jan 7: As Pakistan restricted the Delhi-Lahore bus service citing security reasons, India today hoped that the “temporary aberration” would be sorted out to enable the ‘Dosti’ service to resume.
“This is an initiative which our former Prime Minister Atal Bhihari Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has started. We hope that it would ply in accordance with their vision and if there are temporary aberrations, we hope these will be sorted,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said here.
Akbaruddin, who speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, said the restriction is in force since December 31 last.
“If there are security concerns that Pakistan is expressing on its side, then it is for Pakistan to decide what is in their best interest, in terms of security,” the spokesperson said.
Citing increased “terror threats” Pakistan has restricted the bus service to Wagah border for the first time since the it was launched in 1999.
The bus service between the two countries was started on March 16, 1999 primarily to enhance people-to-people contacts following an initiative by Vajpayee and Sharif. Sharif is back as Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third time since June 2013.
The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) today said the Pakistan-India Dosti bus service will now on be operated only up to Wagah Border because of terror threats.
Passengers leaving for New Delhi and Amritsar from Lahore will now have to disembark at Wagah to catch a bus on the Indian side. Similarly, those travelling to Lahore from India by the service will disembark at Wagah too and switch buses.
Earlier, police used to escort the buses from Wagah to Lahore’s Gulberg and Nankana Sahib terminals. Similarly, the police used to provide escort to the Dosti buses from Gulberg and Nankana Sahib to Wagah. (PTI)
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