Pakistan suspends Samjhauta Express train service till further notice

Pakistani has suspended the Samjhauta Express train service to India amid tense bilateral ties between the neighbouring countries.

The biweekly train service between India and Pakistan was scheduled to depart from Lahore with 16 passengers. It embarked on its journey from Karachi but the passengers are stuck at Lahore railway station, news agency PTI reported.

Tensions between the two countries had escalated after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama. Pakistan -based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

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On Tuesday, Indian Air Force fighter planes dropped laser-guided bombs at Jaish-e-Mohammed’s largest terror camp across the Line of Control in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa’s Balakot. India’s foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale described the strike as “a non-military pre-emptive action”. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief.

Pakistani aircraft violated Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Wednesday morning. The Indian Air Force scrambled jets and pushed them back.

New Delhi has said that Pakistani fighter jets tried to target its military installations on Wednesday morning but their attempts were foiled by the Indian Air Force.

“Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan’s attempts were foiled successfully,” said External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India said that Pakistani fighter jets were detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly.

The Samjhauta Express, named after the Hindi word for “agreement”, comprises six sleeper coaches and an AC 3-tier coach. The train service was started on July 22, 1976 under the Shimla Agreement that settled the 1971 war between the two nations.

First Published: Feb 28, 2019 10:38 IST