The Amritsar- Lahore bus

Atlast, the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to have a Lahore- Amritsar Bus service. This should have actually been the first bus service between India and Pakistan and not an afterthought after the Delhi- Lahore bus.

Believe me, the Governments of India and Pakistan have ensured that the busses between the two countries are the safest surface transport journey’s possible, well except George Bush’s convoy maybe. So, the Delhi- Lahore bus is accompanied by the 2 jeeps of local police, yeah, one in the front chasing away other road users and another at the back, right through Delhi, Haryana and Punjab journey of 8 hours. Beyond Wagah, the Paki police do the same for a mere half an hour until the destination Lahore.

The city of Amritsar is abour 30 minutes away from Wagah. An Amritsar- Lahore bus will require a lot less commitment of manpower for security purposes. Ideally, this should have been the first bus to have been launched. Everybody who wants to cross into Pakistan pools into Amritsar and board the bus. Everybody who needs to visit India (for legitimate purposes) may pool into Lahore and embark at Amritsar and head to whichever part of India they have their business/ family in. Existing Super deluxe busses between Amritsar and Delhi can take Delhi bound travellers to the capital.

The GoI will save a packet on security costs. Did I mention an anti-hijack commando sits inside the bus with a loaded automatic? The poor guy can do more runs Amritsar- Wagah in a day than Delhi- Wagah.