Pakistan and India to let Kashmiris cross LoC: fifth point opens

Kashmiris from the occupied region will be allowed to cross the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday to check on family living in the earthquake-ruined area, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
The move comes weeks after Pakistan and India agreed to the humanitarian gesture, to help the movement of aid and to allow divided families to meet across the LoC.
Tasnim Aslam told Reuters on Wednesday the first movement of people will be across the border between Chakothi and Uri.
Thursday's crossing will be one-way traffic, with 83 people from occupied Kashmir allowed to make the trip to Azad Kashmir.
But none of the 120 people from Azad Kashmir who applied to go the other way have had their names cleared by the Indian authorities.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan on Wednesday opened the fifth and final crossing along the LoC but allowed only humanitarian supplies across.
Indian and Pakistani officials greeted each other at the crossing opening.
"The Hajipir-Uri crossing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir has opened today," a Pakistan military official told AFP.
Hajipir is on the Pakistani side and Uri is in the Indian zone.
Both sides exchanged relief items, including blankets and rations, at the crossing, which was to remain open until 5 pm, the official said.
Each of the five crossing points would open once a week for crossings.
The move to open the crossings after almost 60 years was seen as a boost to the peace process.
The two South Asian rivals agreed last month to open five crossings on the heavily militarised LoC.
While they have exchanged relief goods at these crossings this month, no people have yet crossed because, according to Pakistani officials, the Indian side was not ready.
Military Spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said people would be allowed to cross the other four border points later this month.
"We wanted to allow the people from both sides to cross the Line of Control in the day time on a daily basis. But India has shown some administrative problems in this regard," he said.