Cross-LoC bus service resumes in J-K

The Cross-LoC bus service resumed through Poonch district today after being suspended last week, despite the ongoing skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC) and the India-Pak border.

Nine people, including five Jammu and Kashmir residents, returned to India, while 20 used the service to go back to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a senior official said. Last week, on January 18, the weekly service was suspended after unprovoked firing by Pakistan that forced Indian troops to retaliate.

Seven Pakistan army personnel, including a Major, were killed in the retaliation.

Since then, 12 people, including five security personnel, have been killed and over 60 injured in heavy Pakistani shelling in Jammu division. The cross-LoC trade, however, had started on Friday, two days after the incident on the Indo-Pak border.