Lahore: Â For the first time since the Pak-India Dosti bus service was launched between New Delhi and Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday restricted its entry in the country, citing increased “terror threats”.
The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation said the Pak-India Dosti bus service will now on be operated only up to Wagah Border.
“The PTDC has shifted the entire bus operation at its sub-office at Wagah. Passengers leaving for New Delhi and Amritsar from here will now have to catch the bus at Wagah. Similarly, those arriving here from across the border by the service will disembark at Wagah too,” an official of PTDC said.
He said the decision was taken in the wake of growing terror threats. After the Taliban militants killed 150 people mostly children at an army-run school in Peshawar on December 16, the Nawaz Sharif government is not taking chances with regard to security matters.
Earlier, police used to escort the buses from Wagah to Lahore’s Gulberg and Nankana Sahib terminals. Similarly, the police used to provide escort to the Dosti buses from Gulberg and Nankana Sahib to Wagah.
“Although it will cause hassle for the passengers of the both sides but we have taken the steps for their security,” the official said, adding the government might consider restoring the old terminals (Gulberg and Nankana Sahib) after reviwing the law and order situation.
The bus service between the two countries was started March 16, 1999 primarily to enhance people-to-people contact.
(With inputs from PTI)