Samjhauta Express Blast Victims Waiting For Justice: Pakistan Reminds India To Take Action

Islamabad reiterated its demand that Delhi should take “serious and credible” steps against the perpetrators at the earliest and without further delay.

In this Feb 19, 2007 file photo, police inspect the burnt coaches of Samjhauta Express at Deewana village near Panipat. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo

New Delhi: Pakistan on Tuesday reminded India of the Samjhauta Express blast saying that the victims are continuously waiting to get justice. Islamabad reiterated its demand that Delhi should take “serious and credible” steps against the perpetrators at the earliest and without further delay. The Foreign Office said in a statement that 13 years ago on February 18, the blasts in the train from Delhi to Lahore resulted in the death of 68 passengers, including more than 40 Pakistani nationals. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said the inordinate delay in justice for the victims, despite availability of evidence, illustrates the unwillingness of the Indian government to hold the perpetrators to account for their barbaric action. The FO urged the Indian government to take steps to bring the perpetrators of the blasts to justice at the earliest. It said that the victims are continuously waiting to get justice. The blast on the India-Pakistan train took place near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007, when it was on its way to Attari in Amritsar, the last station on the Indian side. A special court in Panchkula last year acquitted all the four accused, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary. (with inputs from agencies)