- Travelers only learned about the decision after going to the terminal
- Dozens of people rallied in Muzaffarabad against the suspension of the service
MUZAFFARABAD: India halted a key bus service with the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir, cutting the only land route linking the divided Himalayan region, Pakistani and Indian officials said Wednesday.
According to a Pakistani official, Shahid Mehmood, Indian authorities suspended the bus service this week without explanation.
The development comes amid escalated tensions between Pakistan and India in the wake of last week's deadly suicide bombing in Kashmir against Indian paramilitary troops. At least 40 Indian soldiers were killed in Thursday's attack, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
Pakistan condemned the attack but cautioned India against linking it to the bombing without an investigation.
An Indian official confirmed the service was halted on Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
The bus service between Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's part of Kashmir, and Srinagar, the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, was suspended so suddenly that travelers only learned about when they went to the terminal. Private cars, motorcycles and other forms of transportation have long been banned.
The bus line, launched in 2005, served to reunite families on separate sides of the heavily militarized Line of Control.
"I came to Muzaffarabad from Rawalpindi to welcome my cousin but was told that no bus will come from Srinagar," said Zareena Bibi, a 43-year-old Pakistani woman.
Shehzada Akhtar, a 56-year-old woman from the Shopian area in Indian-controlled Kashmir, said she was prevented from traveling Monday following a death in her family on the other side of the line.
"I could not go to see my ailing uncle in 2016 when there was some tension between India and Pakistan," Akhtar explained. "Now when my uncle has passed away, I am again unable to share grief with my beloved cousins."
Angered over the suspension of bus service, dozens of people rallied in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday.