Adil Najam
In a tragic development – and what is clearly the most serious threat to recent headways in the India-Pakistan peace process – a train bound from India to Pakistan (Samjhota Express) caught fire, reportedly because of two crude home-made bombs which exploded. Over 60 people are reported dead, most of them Pakistanis returning home, but the death toll also includes many Indians, including some Indian officials.
Here are some details, according to the BBC:
At least 64 people have been killed in a series of explosions and a fire on a Pakistan-bound train in the northern Indian state of Haryana, officials say. Passengers reported hearing two blasts as the train passed near Panipat, about 80km (50 miles) north of Delhi. The train – the Samjhauta Express – was part of a service taking passengers from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan. A spokesman for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the explosions were probably an “act of terror”. A number of other passengers were injured, and officials say the death toll may rise. The Samjhauta Express is one of two train services connecting India and Pakistan. After a two-year gap, it was reopened in 2004 as part of the peace process between the two countries.
Bloomberg adds the following information:
The blasts, which occurred after 11 p.m. last evening, were caused by crude explosives and struck two coaches of the train, India’s Railways Minister Lalu Prasad told reporters today in a televised interview in New Delhi. Pakistan condemned the blasts, saying India must conduct a thorough investigation into the act of terrorism. The train service between Indian and Pakistan is used by people who can’t afford air travel between the nuclear-armed neighbors that fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947 and started talks to improve relations in 2003. The divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir is at the center of a dispute between the two countries that claim the region in full….
“Preliminary investigations show most of the victims are Pakistanis,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a phone interview from capital Islamabad today. “We expect India to conduct a thorough inquiry to find out the reasons behind this act.” The Pakistan High Commission in the Indian capital is being informed about possible casualties, zonal railways official B.N. Mathur said. A railway guard manning a signal cabin on the route between Delhi and Attari heard two explosions when the train crossed the station near Panipat, a refinery town, Mathur told reporters from the blast site….
India had the responsibility of providing security to the train in its part of the country, Aslam said, refusing to comment on the impact of the blasts on peace talks between the two countries. “We don’t know the motive behind the blasts.”
Pakistan has recently seen a spate of bombings in its major cities, and even before this some in government were pointing towards a ‘foreign hand’ in these bombings. Both countries have long played this game of ‘blame the foreign hand’, including in the recent tragic train bombings in Mumbai. The impulse to do so at the first sign of trouble is a natural one in the sub-continent. Given the deep distrust that exists between the two, it may even be understandable. But irrespective of the short-term political gains such finger-pointing might gain, it is not a very useful way to deal with deep tensions. One certainly hopes that this will not slide to that level and if, indeed, the purpose of those who did this terrible act was to hurt the peace process, then both countries will work together to make sure that this does not happen.
It is a good sign that Pakistan has announced that the visit by the Pakistan Foreign Minister to India will not be canceled. The signals from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry are sober but reasonable. According to The News:
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri Monday condemned a train blast in India which killed at least 66 people as a “horrendous act of terrorism” and said most of the victims were Pakistanis. Kasuri said he had asked the Indian government to investigate the incident overnight on a Samjhota Express. “It is a horrendous act of terrorism,” Kasuri told reporters during a function at the foreign office. “I would like the Indian government to investigate this incident. We are waiting for the results of the investigation,” he said. The minister said he had instructed the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to send staff to the site to help Pakistan nationals caught up in the blast.
The main leaders in India, including the Prime Minister and President, have also sent the right signals, including condolences to those who have died. The overtures from both sides are to focus on finding the terrorists who committed this atrocity. One hopes that their attentions will remain focussed on this purpose rather than succumbing to the impulse of scoring political points through the unwarranted politics of incrimination. Most of all, one hopes that neither country will allow the peace process to be derailed by this blast.
Thanks Sridhar for the link. It’s India’s internal matter and they should be allowed to do the investigation. Furthermore it’s very difficult for multiple organization to perform investigation and impossible for two nations to work on one case.
Pakistanis shouldn’t forget that our law enforcement is one of the corrupt lot so we are not missing anything ;).
Pervaiz,
You are making it as this explosion is a fault of divided families. So for your information there are many Punjabis and Pathans who live in Karachi for their livelihood and make trips to home occasionally. What is your suggestion for them? Should they all forget they have family back home as not all are fortunate to find livelihood in their native city or town. Terrorists are everywhere if they can bomb Samjhauta so do they can and will bomb train which runs between Pakistani or Indian cities and we saw how they targeted commuter trains everywhere. If you want to blame someone then blame the groups who are behind it don’t put more burden on innocents who are already victimized by everyone. BTW why are you using divided families as a escape goat. Most of them are leading their lives but there is a documented proof which shows they are discriminated by majority to some extent but in my view rural Sindhis, Balouchis and Pathans are discriminated more. If you don’t believe me just go and see their living conditions in Sindh, Baloachistan and NWFP.
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Regarding the impossibility of the involvement of the Pakistan entities in the killing of Pakistani citizens, it must surely be the joke of the year. I have not yet seen suggestions anywhere that the Pakistani Government directly ordered these attacks.
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@Sridhar, you should read some Indian newspapers for a change. But it’s great to know that you actually checked up on this Pakistani outlet…if only more Indians would have read papers like these during the Gujarat massacre they wouldn’t deny it similar to the way the Nazi remnants denied the holocaust.
BTW, the train that was bombed was not the international train as per the India-Pakistan agreement. That train runs only between Atari on the Indian side and Wagah on the Pakistani side. That train is run half the time using Indian Railway rolling stock and crew and half the time by Pakistan Railways. The train that was bombed was the Delhi-Atari express, which connects to the international train. It is an additional train offered by Indian Railways for convenience and is run entirely by Indian Railways. It is not subject to any bilateral agreement.
Regarding the impossibility of the involvement of the Pakistan entities in the killing of Pakistani citizens, it must surely be the joke of the year. I have not yet seen suggestions anywhere that the Pakistani Government directly ordered these attacks.
See this editorial in a major Pakistani newspaper.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007 2\21\story_21-2-2007_pg3_1
An excerpt from this editorial:
[quote]Most of the victims of the fire that engulfed the coaches were Pakistanis. Out of the total passengers (757) travelling in the train, 555 were Pakistanis because the ‘friendship train’ is basically meant for separated Muslims families. Looking at the pattern of travel on the special train, one can say that Pakistani families travel more often to India than those of Indian Muslims to Pakistan. One can therefore assume that whoever sabotaged the train knew that only Muslims would die and most of them would be Pakistanis. Does that mean that this dastardly act could not have been perpetrated by Muslims? No, it doesn’t. On the contrary, in fact, on recent record, one is almost reluctant to accuse anyone but Muslim terrorists for this act.[/quote]
Aafaq: My answer to your questions is yes.