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.
[quote comment=”35374″]@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.[/quote]
Eidee Man:
The Indian English-language media and television stations of all languages did a fairly good job of reporting the Gujarat riots and the involvement of certain politicians of the BJP and its sister organizations in these pogroms. They did a decent job of following it up with reports on the plight of victims, of pointing out unfair decisions (e.g. differential compensation to riot victims and the victims of the Godhra train fire) and generally kept the pressure up. The media and civil rights groups were instrumental in getting the Supreme Court to reopen about 2000 cases that had been closed and to transfer some cases out of Gujarat for better witness protection and prosecution. Could more have been done – sure. Are there black sheep in the media – sure. But on the whole, the English language media and TV news channels played an honourable and positive role and have been applauded for that internationally as well. The role of the Gujarati language press at that time is more questionable though.
So to address your comment, no it would not have added anything to see the Pakistani media reports at that time since they were essentially reporting what the Indian media was reporting. They had no independent source of information and they were not reporting anything that the Indian media had already not reported.
There is no significant denial of the Gujarat pogroms by a vast majority of people, including the leadership of the BJP (though they deny their involvement in the events). Those who do deny it would do so whatever reports were shown to them, because they have no intention of being objective about it.
And whosoever thinks that this incident is India’s internal matter and should be dealt on these lines needs to go and learn the way world diplomacy operates. And before een doing that neds to go wash his/her face with cold water.
My countrymen are klled on Indian soil. how can this be India’s internal matter?
There is a limit to being submissive and some of you are masters at crossing it.
What peace process Adil is talking about? the one where i am a begger and the scapegoat and my indian counter part has all the rights to stop me from making enquiries into the investigations of the incident and still act decent.
I dont think there is any peace process and i dont think there will be any peace process.
So stop talking about something that does not exist.
If in your views intermingling of movie stars and dancing dublins is equal to a peace process then God save me from this process.
My men are burnt my men are killed in cold blood and genocides take place and all i get from people like you is a pat on the back telling me peace process is still intact thank your God for that.
I think you should tell this to the children of those 2000 or so muslims who were butchered in Gujrat.
Aqil, here is the old line and also a new one on why we find it so difficut to beleiev India’s sincerity
LINK 1
LINK 2
Lahori, there is something wrong with the link you provided, could you please paste it again?