The Hindu : Bus came as a boon for baby Noor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 12, 2003

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Bus came as a boon for baby Noor

By Our Staff Reporter

Two-year-old Noor Fatima, who arrived by the Lahore bus to undergo an open-heart surgery in Bangalore, with her parents in New Delhi on Friday. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI JULY 11 . The first batch of 30 passengers on board the Lahore-Delhi bus was accorded a warm welcome when the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation's bus rolled in two hours behind schedule in the evening.

``We had five stoppages, four in India, during the 14-hour journey. The hospitality was overwhelming. It was because of this welcome and protocol that our bus got delayed. But it was a memorable and historic journey which would go a long way in improving the India-Pakistan ties,'' said Mahmood Masood, who arrived with his wife and three children.

The passengers, comprising 10 Pakistani and one Japanese journalist, were welcomed by Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner, Munawwar Saeid, and the Delhi Transport Corporation's CMD, A.J.S. Sawhney.

``The resumption of the service marks the restoration of Indo-Pak. ties. This initiative will increase people-to-people contact between the two nations and take the relations to the old level. We are preparing a proposal to restore the rail links as well,'' said Mr. Saeid. It was an emotional moment for Jubaida Sultan and her two children as her entire family had come to receive them.

``I was born and brought up in old Delhi. I was married to a Pakistani and my family later moved to Saudi Arabia. It is after a gap of three years that I have come to India,'' she said.

There was two-year-old Noor Fatima who was accompanied by her father. ``My child is suffering from a severe heart problem. I should seek permission from the Indian authorities to take her to Bangalore for an open-heart surgery. My doctor in Pakistan has talked to his doctor friend in Bangalore who has come forward to help us,'' said Fatima's father, Nadeem Sajjad.

The passengers also included two Pakistan-born U.S. nationals. ``It was a journey worth remembering whose moments I will share with all my Indian and Pakistani friends in the U.S.,'' said Tariq Mahmood and Munir who will be visiting Agra, Goa and Mumbai before taking the bus to Lahore next week.

Hussain Ahmed, an Egyptian, who wanted to experience the euphoria behind the emerging relationship between the two great Asian nations, said that the Indian hospitality was amazing.

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