Delhi–Lahore Bus
| Founded | 19 February 1999 |
|---|---|
| Stops | Amritsar, Kartarpur, Kurukshetra, Sirhind, Wagha |
| Destinations | Delhi, Lahore |
| Operator |
Delhi Transport Corporation Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation |
The Delhi–Lahore Bus, officially known as Sada-e-Sarhad (Urdu: صدائے سرحد, Hindi: सदा ए सरहद, translation: Call of the Frontier), is a passenger bus service connecting the Indian capital of Delhi with the city of Lahore, Pakistan via the border transit post at Wagah. The Routemaster bus number 10 was of symbolic importance to the efforts of the governments of both nations to foster peaceful and friendly relations. In its inaugural run on 19 February 1999, the bus carried the then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was to attend a summit in Lahore and was received by his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif at Wagah.
Officially launching its services on 16 March, the bus service was not halted even after the outbreak of the Kargil War. The bus service was halted in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, which led to a serious confrontation between the two neighbours.
Since the partition of India in 1947, travel restrictions were imposed and most road and railway links shut off. Following the example of the Samjhauta Express that was launched in 1976, the bus service was launched to permit divided families to visit relatives and to foster commerce and tourism. The bus service launch was a key element in the efforts of the Indian and Pakistani governments to improve frosty and tense relations with Pakistan, especially in the aftermath of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests and the immediate Pakistani response of the Chaghai Hills tests. The bus had made its trial runs on 8 and 14 January, carrying officials of both governments. Vajpayee's bus journey and arrival in Pakistan was met with much fanfare on both sides of the border and worldwide media coverage. The inaugural bus also carried Indian celebrities and dignitaries such as Dev Anand, Satish Gujral, Javed Akhtar, Kuldip Nayar, Kapil Dev, Shatrughan Sinha and Mallika Sarabhai. Both governments soon promulgated the 1999 Lahore Declaration, which pledged both nations to the peaceful resolution of bilateral disputes, especially that of the Kashmir conflict and deployment of nuclear weapons, while fostering friendly commercial and cultural relations.
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