AMRITSAR, MARCH 19: Four of the 40 passengers on board the Delhi-bound Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) coach from Lahore were sent back to Pakistan from the Wagah joint check-post today, for violating the travel rules laid down for passengers traveling on the Lahore-Delhi route.According to Assistant Commissioner K K Sharma, the four passengers had valid documents and were later identified as porters working on the other side of the Wagah post. They hailed from Gunduchok village close to the Indo-Pak border, he added.The deportation formalities delayed the bus by about an hour.This is the first time that there has been an embarrassing situation involving the ``goodwill'' bus, after it started operating between the two countries on March 15.
Official sources said the four had got on from the Pakistan side of the check-post in violation of the agreement between the two countries, according to which passengers cannot board the bus midway and can only do so at the take-off points at Lahoreand Delhi. The Indian Government had conveyed its concern over the violation to the Pakistan authorities.
The local Customs authorities said that the passengers were carrying ``items of commercial value'', including cigarettes and halogen lamps and two lambs hidden in a basket. The four were given the option of paying customs duty on the items, which they resisted. Sharma said they could have been taken into custody for violating the rules.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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