Unrest in Indian Punjab: Lahore-Delhi bus service suspended

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India-Pakistan bus service suspended.

By Muhammad Luqman
The ongoing unrest in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana has started casting shadows on road and train links between India and Pakistan with the suspension of Lahore-New Delhi bus service on 25 and 26 August.
According to Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) officials, the bus scheduled to leave for Indian capital on Friday has been cancelled on Indian request. The bus from New Delhi will also not come to Pakistan.
The situation in northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana is very tense ahead of court verdict on rape allegations against Sikh cult leader and actor, Ram Rahim Singh who , according to Indian media, reached the court at the head of a carcade.
Singh is facing charges of raping his fellow female worker in the year 2002 and killing a journalist, Ram Chander Chatrapati and Dera Sacha Sauda manager, Ranjit Singh.
In addition to Lahore-Delhi bus service, as many as 77 trains in Indian states of Haryana and Punjab regions have been cancelled for the next few days.
Delhi-Lahore bus service , also called Dosti (Friendship) bus service, has experienced suspension whenever there is some political unrest on the Indian side since its launch on 19 February 1999.