PM praises Gen; Sonia talks roots

Defying terrorist threats and the shadow of violence, the 21 passengers — two of them dropped out later — were almost sent off lik...

Defying terrorist threats and the shadow of violence, the 21 passengers — two of them dropped out later — were almost sent off like soldiers. Flanked by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers Natwar Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar, J-K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Governor L-G S.K. Sinha and other Congress and PDP leaders, the PM flagged off the two white buses.

The occasion was marked by the growing Indo-Pak bonhomie and even some praise showered on Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf by the PM. Thanking Musharraf, Singh said that the revival of the Jhelum Valley Road and the bus across the LoC could not have been possible without his support.

‘‘It is a result of India and Pakistan walking together and has shown how much the authorities in the two countries respect the emotions of their people,’’ Singh said, adding that ‘‘this is the day we have long been waiting for.’’ The bus service, he said, was the first step on a long road ahead on which many hurdles still remained to be crossed.

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Extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan, Singh said, ‘‘India is ready to hold the hand of Pakistan to usher in peace and development for our people, specially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.’’ The national and international media watched as Sonia Gandhi wooed the Kashmiris with an emotional speech in Urdu.

Invoking the Gandhi family’s roots in Kashmir, she said that no threat from militants could deter their efforts to bring normalcy in the state and in relations with Pakistan.