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Srinagar: Residents of Jammu and Kashmir on May 27 welcomed New Delhi's initiative of resuming bus service to Pakistan.

The decision is the latest in a series of reciprocal confidence-building measures begun last month by the governments in New Delhi and Islamabad meant to create a climate for eventual peace talks.

"We are really happy about the opening of the road. It would lead to better relations between the two nations. More brotherhood will spread among the people if the road is opened. It will be really good for us," said Ejaz Ahmed, a resident.

"It was one nation before, it was later that we made it two. If people of both nations meet, both nations would live in peace. It will be good for the nations if there is brotherhood. This way no other nation would be able to get the better of them," added Mohammad Rashid, another resident.

Renewing this bus service carries particular resonance in India, bringing echoes of a bus journey made by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Lahore in 1999 in what was ultimately a failed peace bid.

ANI