Indian and Pakistani officials greeted each other at the crossing opening Wednesday.

"The Hajipir-Uri crossing on the Line of Control (Loc) in Kashmir opened today," a Pakistani 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 1000 GMT, the official said.

The neighbours agreed to open five crossing points to aid humanitarian efforts following the October 8 quake that killed over 73,000 people in Pakistan and its part of Kashmir and 1,300 people in Indian Kashmir.

Pakistani police used tear gas to hold back villagers who wanted to cross the frontier when the first crossing opened a week ago, an action that angered Kashmiris.

Pakistan's foreign ministry on Monday said it had approved the names of 83 Kashmiris that India had approved for crossing the LoC, while it had sent a list of 70 Pakistani Kashmiris to India.

Each of the five crossing points would open once a week for crossings.

The two countries opened the first crossing along the Line of Control on November 7 in Poonch district, followed two days later by another in the Uri sector. The third crossing at Titwal was opened on Saturday.

The move to open the crossings after almost 60 years was seen as a boost to the peace process between the historic enemies, who have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which they each hold in part but claim in full.

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