By Y.P. Rajesh and Tahir Ikram PEACE BRIDGE, India-Pakistan border (Reuters) - Showered with tears and rose petals from relatives thought long lost, two groups of Indian and Pakistani Kashmiris walked over the "Peace Bridge" on Thursday, breaching a military line that has divided them and their land with blood for almost 60 years. Nineteen Indian Kashmiris, mostly elderly, defied separatist threats and crossed the metal bridge -- painted neutral white for the occasion -- hours after 31 Pakistanis walked into India to reunite divided families. "I can't control my emotion. I am setting foot in my motherland," said a tearful Shahid Bahar, a lawyer from the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, Muzaffarabad. "I am coming here for the first time to meet my blood relations," said Bahar, whose father crossed over in 1949. "It was my dream. It is unbelievable. Everyone is here." On both sides, they were hugged and kissed by relatives they had not held for decades, or in some cases, ever. "It's for the first time that I have seen my uncle," sobbed Noreen Arif, an adviser to Pakistani Kashmir's prime minister, hugging him tearfully as he stepped off the bridge. Major celebrations were held in the final destinations, Muzaffarabad, and Srinagar. On Srinagar's Dal Lake, canoeloads of flowers were pushed out into the water to give thanks for the safe arrival of the passengers. Weary, emotional passengers were welcomed in Srinagar with marigold garlands and a live band as camera lights flashed. Washington called it "a powerful symbol of rapprochement" between rivals which fought two wars over mainly Muslim Kashmir. "The leaders of India and Pakistan ... will continue to have the strong support of the United States as they resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue," U.S ambassador David C. Mulford said in a statement. A spokesman for Kofi Annan said the United Nations Secretary General saw the bus service as opening the way to further progress and "the resolution of all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan". Attacks by Islamic separatists who threatened to turn the buses into rolling coffins scared off some passengers but failed to derail one of the most significant and emotive steps in South Asia's unsteady peace process. "The caravan of peace has started," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said as he sent off the Pakistan-bound bus in front of a crowd of thousands braving freezing drizzle at the Lion of Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, the region's heart and soul. "Nothing can stop it." Separatists tried to stop it, firing two rifle grenades at one of the Muzaffarabad-bound buses soon after it left. But no one was hurt, the bus was not hit and did not stop. Two guerrillas staged a suicide attack on a fortified government complex housing the passengers on Wednesday just a few hundred metres from the Lion of Kashmir stadium. SMOULDERING RUINS They torched the complex. The passengers escaped, although five later pulled out. As the white-and-green buses draped with marigolds drove off, the complex still smouldered nearby. On both sides of the heavily militarised and policed border, in an area once shelled almost daily, large crowds of locals gathered on the sides of the steep, rocky Pir Panjal mountains to watch the event, turned into a major celebration by India. A large billboard faces Pakistan at the bridge, reading: "No religion teaches animosity towards each other". Security in Indian Kashmir was the tightest for years -- an armoured car and a busload of soldiers tailed the buses. Rebel threats had created a deep sense of unease but also defiance among Kashmiris determined to see families reunited. "A door has opened," said Singh, in his trademark blue turban, speaking behind bullet-proof glass. "Pakistan and especially President General Pervez Musharraf have helped us open this door. This is the beginning of a new phase. Violence is not going to solve any problems." He was speaking at the same stadium where his predecessor, Atal Behari Vajpayee, kicked off the peace process two years ago this month, extending "the hand of friendship" to Pakistan after nearly going to war in 2002. Musharraf is due to visit New Delhi this month. The buses stopped at the Indian town of Salamabad for lunch. School children waved flags, bands played and cooks prepared a traditional "wazwan" feast of 35 dishes, almost all mutton. Despite the risk, passengers from both sides were determined. "There is a risk but I am taking the risk so that this bus is the first step towards a resolution of Kashmir," said Sharif Hussain Bukhari, a retired Pakistani judge returning after 55 years to see his sister and cousins. "The Line of Control could fall like the Berlin Wall." The service, which will run only twice a month, is a small concession for families separated by conflict since 1947 but also carries hopes of a big boost to a cautious peace process. "This bus should lead to the disappearances of borders forever," said the popular leader of Indian Kashmir's ruling party, Mehbooba Mufti, who was at the bridge. (Additional reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq in SALAMABAD and Terry Friel in SRINAGAR)
Mapa da Cachemira onde pode ser vista marcada a região territorial em disputa. Em cinza está assinalada a Linha de Controle, onde houve cessar fogo.

Dia 7 de abril um ônibus conseguiu cruzar a região em disputa da Cachemira, entre a Índia e o Paquistão,  apesar de ter sido  atacado  no início da  viagem. Supostamente separatistas islâmicos lançaram granadas na direção do  ônibus depois que ele partiu da estação em Srinagar. Contudo,  o veículo resistiu ao ataque e pôde  continuar a viagem. 

Apesar de os  passageiros do ônibus terem escapados ilesos, o ataque feriu quatro outras pessoas, inclusive um policial. As autoridades indianas também localizaram e neutralizaram pelo menos um dispositivo explosivo colocado ao longo do itinerário do ônibus.

O serviço de transporte oferecido pelo ônibus, é o primeiro  da sua espécie em quase 60 anos. Ele transportou caxemiros paquistaneses e indianos  através da região em  conflito, e passou  pela linha de cessar fogo  entre a Índia e  Paquistão, chamada Linha de Controle. As viagens de ônibus, que ocorrem entre  Srinagar e Muzaffarabad, são vistas como um passo importante para fomentar as relações pacíficas crescentes entre a Índia e o Paquistão. 

Os dois países contém armas nucleares e disputam a região da Cachemira há mais de 50 anos.