Transport between India and Pakistan

In 2019, all public transport links between the two countries were severed because of Pakistani protest at India's revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 had similarly divided the state of Jammu and Kashmir between the two rivals, causing termination of road links in the region.

[2] In the 1990s, the Line of Control (LoC) demarcating the informal boundary along disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir was the scene of exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Indian forces and infiltration of militants into Indian-side.

[6] In its inaugural run on 19 February 1999, the bus carried the then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was to attend a summit in Lahore and was received by his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif at Wagah.

[3] The official agreement was promulgated on 16 February 2005 when the then-Indian Minister of External Affairs K. Natwar Singh visited Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The bus ran a distance of 183 kilometres and was officially launched on 7 April 2005 and was flagged-off by the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

[10] [11] The Indian official position viewed the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad bus service as a "humanitarian measure without prejudice" and not affecting the rival policies and stands of the two governments on the Kashmir dispute.

[3] In India, all citizens would have to apply at the Regional Passport Office in Srinagar, which was the designated authority to evaluate applications, verify identities and issue entry permits.

[13] Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombings.