A bus garlanded with orange marigolds has set off from the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir with passengers bound for the Pakistani side of the territory for first time in nearly 60 years.
The caravan of peace has started
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The bus, launching a historic service linking the Himalayan region divided since 1947, was sent off by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from Kashmir's main city Srinagar, bound for Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
"The caravan of peace has started," Mr Singh told thousands of Kashmiris who had gathered in a heavily guarded stadium in Srinagar in freezing rain today. "Nothing can stop it."