Highlights
ATTARI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday refused to send the Samjhauta Express, known as the harbinger of peace, to India, claiming that the train’s crew —two drivers and a guard — were scared of entering Indian territory. The action was a response to India stripping Jammu & Kashmir of its special status.
Attari international railway station superintendent A K Gupta said the Pakistani side informed them before the train’s scheduled arrival time of 12.30pm that the train crew had refused to enter India due to security concerns.
Gupta said Pakistan then asked for an Indian crew to drive the Samjhauta Express across from Wagah in Pakistan and that the Indian crew then brought the train, carrying about 110 Indian and Pakistani passengers, from Pakistan to Attari at around 5pm. It left Attari for Pakistan at 6.40pm with around 100 passengers.
In Islamabad, Pakistan railway minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed told reporters the Samjhauta Express would not operate during his term in office. He said passengers who had made advance bookings would receive refunds. “The bogies of the Samjhauta Express will be attached to special Eid trains,” the minister said.
Ahmed also asked India to take back its coaches and train engines. The minister said the decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “annex” Kashmir was very unwise. “If war starts between the two countries, it will be the last war on the issue,” he warned, claiming that “Pakistan has more right on Kashmir as Pakistanis and Kashmiris share the same religion, culture, civilisation and values”.
“We don’t want war but we can’t sit quietly over Indian atrocities as Srinagar is not Jerusalem,” Rasheed said. In reply to a question, he said Pakistan Railways would observe the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in a befitting manner.
The Samjhauta Express runs between Attari (India) and Lahore (Pakistan) every Monday and Thursday, covering a distance of nearly 29km, including the 3.25km between Attari and Wagah.
However, Indian railway officials said the train had not been suspended. “The train has not been suspended. It will run. The Pakistan authorities have raised some concerns with regard to security for the crew and guard of the Samjhauta Express. We have told them the situation is normal on this side,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.
Explaining the procedure, Kumar said the trains from both Lahore and Delhi halt at Attari where Delhi-bound passengers from Lahore get on to an Indian train and Lahore-bound passengers board the Pakistani train which then returns to Wagah and then Lahore. On the Attari-Lahore run, the rakes change every six months — six months with Indian coaches and six months with Pakistani ones, Kumar was quoted as saying.
Pakistan had briefly suspended operations of the Samjhauta Express on February 28 after the Pulwama terror attack led to heightened tensions between the two countries. Earlier, the train had remained suspended from December 10, 1992 to January 1, 2003 in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and then from December 31, 2001 to January 15, 2004.
Pakistan had also cancelled the train service due to a “rail roko” agitation by Indian farmers in October 2015. The train service began on July 22, 1976 under the Simla Agreement, signed on July 2, 1972, after the 1971 war.
Attari international railway station superintendent A K Gupta said the Pakistani side informed them before the train’s scheduled arrival time of 12.30pm that the train crew had refused to enter India due to security concerns.
Gupta said Pakistan then asked for an Indian crew to drive the Samjhauta Express across from Wagah in Pakistan and that the Indian crew then brought the train, carrying about 110 Indian and Pakistani passengers, from Pakistan to Attari at around 5pm. It left Attari for Pakistan at 6.40pm with around 100 passengers.
In Islamabad, Pakistan railway minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed told reporters the Samjhauta Express would not operate during his term in office. He said passengers who had made advance bookings would receive refunds. “The bogies of the Samjhauta Express will be attached to special Eid trains,” the minister said.
Ahmed also asked India to take back its coaches and train engines. The minister said the decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “annex” Kashmir was very unwise. “If war starts between the two countries, it will be the last war on the issue,” he warned, claiming that “Pakistan has more right on Kashmir as Pakistanis and Kashmiris share the same religion, culture, civilisation and values”.
“We don’t want war but we can’t sit quietly over Indian atrocities as Srinagar is not Jerusalem,” Rasheed said. In reply to a question, he said Pakistan Railways would observe the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in a befitting manner.
The Samjhauta Express runs between Attari (India) and Lahore (Pakistan) every Monday and Thursday, covering a distance of nearly 29km, including the 3.25km between Attari and Wagah.
However, Indian railway officials said the train had not been suspended. “The train has not been suspended. It will run. The Pakistan authorities have raised some concerns with regard to security for the crew and guard of the Samjhauta Express. We have told them the situation is normal on this side,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.
Explaining the procedure, Kumar said the trains from both Lahore and Delhi halt at Attari where Delhi-bound passengers from Lahore get on to an Indian train and Lahore-bound passengers board the Pakistani train which then returns to Wagah and then Lahore. On the Attari-Lahore run, the rakes change every six months — six months with Indian coaches and six months with Pakistani ones, Kumar was quoted as saying.
Pakistan had briefly suspended operations of the Samjhauta Express on February 28 after the Pulwama terror attack led to heightened tensions between the two countries. Earlier, the train had remained suspended from December 10, 1992 to January 1, 2003 in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and then from December 31, 2001 to January 15, 2004.
Pakistan had also cancelled the train service due to a “rail roko” agitation by Indian farmers in October 2015. The train service began on July 22, 1976 under the Simla Agreement, signed on July 2, 1972, after the 1971 war.
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