Peace bus to Pakistan crosses border, but sans passengers

September 21st, 2009 WAGHA BORDER - In a unique gesture the officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers exchanged sweets and greeted each other at the Wagha Border check post on the occasion of Eid- ul- Fitr. Brigadier Kamran, a wing commander of the Pakistan Rangers offered sweets to his BSF counterpart Commandant Ram Chander Singh.

August 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the imposition of airport development fee (ADF) on passengers by the airport service providers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation directed the all airlines flying out of Delhi to collect a development fee from the passengers while issuing tickets from March this year.

August 15th, 2009 ATTARI BORDER - In what has become an annual ritual at the Attari-Wagah international border between India and Pakistan, peace activists from both sides assembled at the check post here Friday midnight to light candles and pledge for better relations between both sides. The peaceniks, led by veteran Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar, walked up to the border gate on the Indian side, 30 km from Amritsar city, and lit candles there.

August 14th, 2009 WAGAH - Indian and Pakistani border guards stationed at the Wagah border checkpost exchanged sweets and congratulated each other on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Pakistan's Independence Day on Friday. Mohammad Yaqub, Director-General, Pakistan Rangers, and other officials came to the zero line and handed over sweets to Mohammad Akil, DIG BSF.

August 6th, 2009 Paraguay landless try crucifixion to get attentionASUNCION, Paraguay — It's a gruesome tradition in Paraguay that gets results, at least from leftist priest-turned president Fernando Lugo. A half-dozen protesters have hammered long nails through their hands and tied themselves to crosses or laid in coffins in an appeal for land.

July 3rd, 2009 MIRANSHAH - Pakistan has sealed its South Waziristan border with Afghanistan and imposed a curfew there to prevent Afghan militants from infiltrating into its territory in the wake of fresh offensives by US troops on the Taliban on the other side of the border. The Pakistan Army has already deployed additional troops at the border on the directives of the federal government, the Online news agency said Friday.

May 5th, 2009 ATARI - India-bound passengers on board the India-Pakistan Samjhauta Express train commented on the dominance of Taliban in Pakistan. Passengers said that the fear of Taliban is on the minds of the people in Pakistan.

April 2nd, 2009 AMRITSAR - Uncertainty prevails over the India-Pakistan peace bus being allowed to enter Pakistani territory Friday by authorities in that country in the wake of the recent terrorist strikes near Lahore. The Amritsar-Lahore 'Punjab-Aab' bus will leave this city for its journey till Lahore city in Pakistan, 55 km from here, Friday.

March 26th, 2009 KATHUA - Farmers who had lost their agricultural land to border fencing in Kashmir are happy with realignment of fencing border. Farmers of Kathua district have thanked government for fencing re-alignment.

March 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Making a strong pitch for lasting peace between India and Pakistan, former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf Saturday exhorted the two countries to move beyond 'the burden of history' and jointly combat common problems like extremism and terrorism. 'We must overcome the burden of history and move forward.

March 6th, 2009 SRINAGAR - The scheduled run of the weekly cross-border bus between Pakistan and India in Jammu and Kashmir was cancelled Thursday on Islamabad's request. 'On the request of Pakistani authorities, the Karwan-e-Aman bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarbad (capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir) did not ply today (Thursday),' an official spokesman said in a statement.

February 23rd, 2009 AMRITSAR - A group of eminent people from India on a peace mission Sunday crossed over into Pakistan from the Attari-Wagah land border checkpost between the two countries near here. Noted journalist Kuldip Nayar, film director Mahesh Bhatt, social activist Swami Agnivesh and others are part of this peace delegation.

February 9th, 2009 JAMMU - Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Tuesday said peace in the sub-continent and the resolution of the Kashmir issue should dominate the national debate rather than the war and confrontation rhetoric against Pakistan. In a statement issued here, Sayeed expressed concern over statements about the possibility of surgical strikes and war with Pakistan as an option to fight terror in the region.

January 21st, 2009 BHUJ - Security has been beefed up along the India-Pakistan border touching Kutch and Banaskantha districts in Gujarat ahead of the Jan 26 Republic Day celebrations, a Border Security Force (BSF) official said Thursday. 'While BSF patrols the border routinely, intensive patrolling is being carried out.

December 27th, 2008 AMRITSAR - Very few passengers from India are boarding the bus service from here to Lahore and Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and the numbers are likely to go down further with the Ministry of External Affairs issuing a travel advisory asking Indians not to travel to Pakistan. Started in 2006, the Amritsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib (the birthplace of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev) bus services have never been a big hit with people due to the lack of a facility for obtaining Pakistani visas from here.