{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Kashmiris prepare for resumption of bus route across region' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2c2d8eafeecae15c226' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2c2d8eafeecae15c226' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nKashmiris prepare for resumption of bus route across region\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eUri, near Line of Control, Jammu-Kashmir state - March 20051. Wide of bus crossing barrier on highway 2. Close-up of road sign3. Various of road roller on highway, road being repaired4. Soldier setting up light on treeSrinagar,...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eUri, near Line of Control, Jammu-Kashmir state - March 2005\u003cbr/\u003e1. Wide of bus crossing barrier on highway \u003cbr/\u003e2. Close-up of road sign\u003cbr/\u003e3. Various of road roller on highway, road being repaired\u003cbr/\u003e4. Soldier setting up light on tree\u003cbr/\u003eSrinagar, Jammu-Kashmir state - March 2005\u003cbr/\u003e5. Abdul Ghani Mir, bus driver who drove the last bus from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar, sitting on bed reading newspaper\u003cbr/\u003e6. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu) Abdul Ghani Mir, bus driver:\u003cbr/\u003e\"When I went there (to Muzaffarabad), they told me: 'This will be Pakistan now.' I said: 'What, is this Pakistan?' They said: 'It will be another country.... a new one - so if you want to go back, then go. Otherwise, the road will be closed.' I thought why should the road be closed? But they said it will be closed and India and Pakistan will be two entities. So I thought it will be better if I return to Kashmir.\"\u003cbr/\u003eUri, near Line of Control, Jammu-Kashmir state - March 2005\u003cbr/\u003e7. Various of sign reading, \"Muzaffarabad 70 kilometres\" (44 miles)\u003cbr/\u003eSrinagar, Jammu-Kashmir state - March 2005\u003cbr/\u003e8. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu) Abdul Ghani Mir, bus driver:\u003cbr/\u003e\"If the bus goes, why should we not feel happy? It's nothing bad - its a good thing if we can go there.\"\u003cbr/\u003e9. Various of Mohammad Abdullah Bhat standing in queue to submit travel form\u003cbr/\u003e10. Close-up of form\u003cbr/\u003e11. Mid-shot of Bhat\u003cbr/\u003e12. Mid-shot of official \u003cbr/\u003e3. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu) Mohammad Abdullah Bhat, travel permit applicant:\u003cbr/\u003e\"My daughter has been in Muzaffarabad for the last 15 years - I have not seen her since then. She has children and I long to see them...I pray to God that this friendship between the two countries lasts, so that the problems and suffering of us Kashmiris can be resolved - I pray to Allah that he keeps the two countries safe and their relationship is transformed into friendship.\"\u003cbr/\u003e14. Haji Sanawala at travel permit counter\u003cbr/\u003e15. Close-up of official looking at application\u003cbr/\u003e16. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu) Haji Sanawala, travel permit applicant:\u003cbr/\u003e\"If they allow me to travel by this route, then I will be very happy - I could then offer prayers at my brother's grave and meet my nephews and sister-in-law. It will make me very happy.\"\u003cbr/\u003e17. Passport officer talking to crowd of form seekers, many of whom were not granted permission to travel\u003cbr/\u003e18. Various of crowd \u003cbr/\u003eIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will travel to Indian-controlled Kashmir this month to inaugurate a historic bus service to the Pakistani portion of the Himalayan territory. The inaugural bus will go on Thursday.\u003cbr/\u003eHundreds of Indian army engineers and workers were clearing land mines and repairing a dilapidated highway to meet the deadline for starting the bus service between Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, and Muzaffarabad in the Pakistan-controlled portion.\u003cbr/\u003eIt will be one of the biggest confidence-boosting measures between the South Asian rivals.\u003cbr/\u003eBoth India and Pakistan claim all of the Himalayan territory, divided between them by a cease-fire zone, or Line of Control. They've fought two wars over it since their independence from Britain in 1947.\u003cbr/\u003eSix decades ago, Abdul Ghani Mir used to drive across the region's picture-postcard valleys, ferrying passengers on the road that was the region's lifeline. \u003cbr/\u003eMir, 82, is one of the last surviving drivers of the 10-bus fleet of the Allied Transport Company that used to roll down the 170 kilometre (105 mile) mountain road before it was closed for traffic in 1948, after Kashmir was divided between archrivals India and Pakistan.\u003cbr/\u003eHe has been suffering from heart ailments and asthma for over a decade but says he would love to drive the bus again.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the 1940s, Mir used to drive a 17-seater Chevrolet bus ferrying  passengers, cargo and mail from Srinagar to Rawalpindi, a city now in Pakistan's Punjab province.\u003cbr/\u003eDuring British colonial rule, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway was a major trade route for the Himalayan region - bringing in oil, salt and other key supplies and linking tens of thousands of families.\u003cbr/\u003eWhen British colonialists left India in 1947 and the new nation of Pakistan was created, Mir was among the Kashmiris who weren't aware for weeks that their land had been divided.\u003cbr/\u003eHe was on the Pakistani side when the split occurred and was given a choice to stay on that side or return to the Indian side.\u003cbr/\u003eMir says he chose to return to his wife Hazira and family. \u003cbr/\u003eRestoring the road link through the glacier-cut valley is an emotional issue for Kashmiris.\u003cbr/\u003eThousands of families have been divided by the dispute over Kashmir and a separatist insurgency in the Indian portion.\u003cbr/\u003eThe bus will greatly help poor divided families who now have to travel hundreds of kilometres (miles) to cross in the northern Indian border state of Punjab.\u003cbr/\u003eSince the bus service was announced, many Kashmiris have clamoured to apply for the special permits that will be used instead of passports or visas to cross the frontier.\u003cbr/\u003eThe bus service between the capitals of the divided Himalayan territory has raised hopes for lasting peace in the insurgency-wracked region.\u003cbr/\u003eMore than a dozen Islamic guerrilla groups have been fighting for independence in predominantly Hindu India's portion of Kashmir - the country's only Muslim-majority state - or its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. \u003cbr/\u003eThe 15-year insurgency has left more than 66,000 people dead, mostly civilians.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv 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