Next time you are in Kashmir, don’t forget to visit Café Freedom, a one-of-its-kind café located at the Kaman Post in Uri, just a stone’s throw away from Khalin-Da-Khas Nalla, a small river that separates Kashmir from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). In 2005, after India and Pakistan agreed to start bus services across the LoC, a bridge—Kaman Aman Setu—was rebuilt over the river, leading to the Kaman trading point on the LoC.
In April last year, the bus service was discontinued and trade stopped to stem the smuggling of narcotics and arms. The Kaman Aman Setu, aka the friendship bridge, has remained shut ever since. The Setu bears Indian flags on its Indian side and Pakistani flags on its Pakistani side. It used to be a major tourist attraction.
The café, run by the Indian Army, was inaugurated on May 18 by wives of soldiers martyred at Uri. The café is now a magnet for the residents of nearby hill villages. “Students from all over Uri come to unwind and enjoy coffee with their friends,” said retired soldier Riyaz Ahmed Khan, who manages the cafe. “We also sell souvenirs for tourists.” Visitors can enjoy a steaming cuppa, hot chocolate and lemonade with chips or patties. Youngsters can be seen taking selfies at the bridge. “We yearned for such a facility in our area, and now we have one,” says Mudasir Khan, a student. He said the ambience is relaxing. After the café opened, the place has become a hive of activity. The Army is organising motivational tours to the cafe for Uri’s students. An Army officer said it is open for all. “The permission to visit the place is easy to obtain,” he said.
Unlike the rest of Kashmir, areas close to the LoC like Uri get little snowfall in the winter. “There is a nip in the air, but it is not bone-chilling,” said a soldier deployed at Kaman Post. The nearest PoK village, Chakoti, is 2km from the café. Muzaffarabad, the PoK capital, is 50km away, and Islamabad, 200km away.
Before 1947, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road was Kashmir’s main link with the outside world. Buses and tongas would ferry passengers between Srinagar and Rawalpindi. The two places also enjoyed trade links. Many Kashmiris—including famous ones like former PM of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, and veteran separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani—attended colleges in Lahore thanks to this road. Also called Jhelum Valley Road (river Jhelum flows into PoK from south Kashmir), the route was made motorable in 1906. In 1947, the tribal militia—which was chased out by the Indian Army—destroyed the old bridge over the Khalin-Da-Khas Nalla during their retreat to PoK.
For now, Kaman Aman Setu remains closed. Given the recent ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, there is hope that it will soon be reopened.