Pakistan-Afghanistan bus service on May 26
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to aunch the first bus service on May 23 for the first time in 28 years, a transport official said on Tuesday.

The bus service between the northern city of Peshawar and the Afghan eastern city of Jalalabad was suspended in 1979 after Russian forces invaded Afghanistan.

Kabul and Islamabad agreed to start the bus service between Jalalabad and Peshawar during Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Islamabad in March 2005.

The two sides had struck a formal deal in February this year.

A successful trial run of the bus service between Jalalabad and Peshawar was held in March and the service was scheduled to begin last month.

Delay in resumption of the bus service has been attributed to private transport operators who had not been able to arrange proper travel documents for their staff.

Zikriya Khan, chief of the United Transport Association, a private transport company to run the bus service from Pakistan, said in Peshawar that the service will be launched on May 26.

Khan said that five buses are to operate daily from each side and a terminal has been established at Karkhanu bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Under a bilateral accord the passengers and drivers must have complete and valid travel documents.

One bus of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) will be run between the two cities on alternate days.

The two countries have also agreed to launch another bus service between the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta and the Afghan southern city of Kandahar.●