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| Regional identity: why not rename PoK as PoJ | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Sep 11
“Azad Kashmir”, as the Indian Territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan is officially known there, has various names –Pakistan occupied Kashmir or Pakistan administered Kashmir but none of them justifies its historical background.
In fact, it should have been Pakistan occupied Jammu instead of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It is a major part of Jammu region under occupation of Pakistan and not that of Kashmir.
Under its ‘Kashmir First’ policy, the Government of India had started the first trans-Line of Control bus service in April 2005 between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad to facilitate meeting between members of the divided families. By any account the majority of divided families live in Jammu –particularly in the districts of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch.
The fact that the second trans-LoC bus service between Poonch and Rawalakote fetched more passengers than the one between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad underlines the reality of divided families and shared culture. Among the major languages of PoK are Dogri, Gojri and Pahari –the languages of Jammu region –and not the Kashmiri as believed by many.
The trans-LoC bus service has brought down many myths about the cultural identity of the region. Between April 2005 and June 2006 when there was only one bus traversing the Line of Control, it was mere loss of expenditure on fuel. Even at one point of time, the PoK administration had shown its inability to keep the bus running as it was not finding enough passengers every fortnight. However, when the second bus service across LoC was thrown between Poonch and Rawalakote it gave shape to the real people-to-people contacts and revival of memories the people of Jammu region shared with each other.
More than 7,500 members of divided families in Jammu and Kashmir have crossed the border to meet their family members in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) through the trans-LoC bus services in the last three years.
The bus service between Uri-Muzaffarabad was launched on April 7, 2005, while the Poonch-Rawalakote service began operations from June 20, 2006. The services were launched to facilitate the travel of divided family members in the state.
Of the 7,582 people, who have travelled to the PoK, 3,478 crossed the border through the Uri-Muzaffarbad road, while 4,104 travelled on the Poonch-Rawalkote bus service, official sources said.
The frequency of the services were increased from fortnightly to weekly in July. The government has also increased the quota of travel on monthly basis to 480 people. |
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