Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party President Sonia Gandhi accompanied by officials flag off the first bus to link divided Kashmir in nearly 60 years during a ceremony in Srinagar on Thursday. (AFP)

SALAMABAD, India, 8 April 2005 —The first bus service linking divided Kashmir brought thousands of people out onto the streets in joy yesterday openly weeping and dancing, optimistic for peace after years of bloodshed.

Smiling faces lined the route of the bus service, the first connecting Kashmir since it was divided in 1947 between Pakistan and India — effectively severing tens of thousands of families on both sides.

The long wait to reunite ended yesterday for Raja Ferozuddin, 75, a retired government official from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan’s part of Kashmir, who traveled on one of the buses to Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.

As the frail man stepped off the bus during a break at Salamabad village, he was greeted by two of his Indian nephews. The three kissed and wept with joy as they held each other.

“I was eight years old when I left this place. All this has happened very late in my life. I want to embrace all this into my heart — the trees, the hills, the rocks,” Ferozuddin said.

Another passenger was also overwhelmed with emotion.

“Never before in my life have I felt the emotions that I felt in the past two hours. God willing, in a couple of months, our whole family will visit this place,” said Mohammed Ashraf Qureshi, sobbing. He has come to meet his wife’s family.

Salamabad villagers welcomed the visitors with a traditional dance with wooden swords and shields. Teenagers sang Kashmiri songs: “Come my beloved one, come and I’ll make gardens of flowers for you. I’ll decorate every path with flowers.”

All the passengers will be state guests for two days, before dispersing to meet their families.

A lavish reception and a cultural show was held for them last night by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, the top administrator in Indian Kashmir.

“It is a big moment for me in my life because I have returned to my country,” said Farida Ghani, a 59-year-old writer from Muzaffarabad.

The buses meandered down the picturesque Himalayan landscape, dotted with military vehicles and soldiers since an insurgency by militant groups erupted in 1989 and propelled Kashmir deeper into the heart of the India-Pakistan enmity. But yesterday, crowds shouted: “Long Live Pakistan! Long Live India!”