Pakistan Stops Samjhauta Express At Wagah, Indian Crew Escorts Train To Attari

Pakistan has suspended the Samjhauta Express train service with India, a day after Islamabad downgraded the diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

Samjhauta Express. (Image: PTI)

NEW DELHI: Pakistan stopped the Samjhauta Express at the Wagah border on Thursday, citing security concerns, following which an Indian crew and guard escorted the train to Attari on the Indian side, a railway spokesperson said. He said around 110 passengers were coming to India from Pakistan. A day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi, Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media in Islamabad that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India. Railway officials here said the train has not been suspended. "The train has not been suspended. It will run. Pakistan authorities have raised some concerns with regards to security for crew and guard of the Samjhauta Express. We have told them that the situation is normal on this side," said Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar.     "Our engine with our crew and guard have escorted the train to Attari," he added. On the Indian side, 70 passengers are waiting to cross over to Pakistan, Kumar said. "We have decided to suspend the Samjhuta train service," Pakistan's Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.  "Till I am Railways minister, Samjhauta Express train service will not operate," he said, adding that the bogies of the train will now be used for passengers travelling on the occasion of Eid. Pakistan's move came a day after it expelled the Indian envoy in Islamabad, announced suspension of bilateral trade, among other measures in retaliation for India revoking Article 370 over Jammu and Kashmir. Explaining the procedure, Kumar said the Samjhauta Express from both Lahore and Delhi come to Attari. At Attari, Delhi-bound passengers coming from Lahore get on to an Indian train. And Lahore-bound passengers board the Pakistani train that retraces its steps back to Wagah and then on to Lahore. On Thursday, the Samjhauta Express from Lahore did not reach Attari, but remained at Wagah on the Pakistan side. 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 Simla Agreement that settled the 1971 war between the two nations. The bi-weekly train runs between both countries on Mondays and Thursdays. It links Lahore with Attari in India's Punjab. The Samjhauta Express service was suspended earlier this year after military tensions escalated between the two neighbours following the Pulwama attack and the Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force.