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.
YLH:
you are slightly incorrect…Hindu terrorism has been around for a long time…it’s just that the media has not considered it worth reporting on. There are countless incidents of Christian missionaries and others being killed by groups such as Shiv Sena, etc..and who could forget the genocide in Gujarat?
The Gujarat case is actually very interesting…the US congress was due to vote on a resolution calling it a genocide when the Indian lobby stepped in and prevented the vote…that was their first success as a unit.
YLH, hang on a bit till some specifics emerge. If its an act of a Hindu fundamentalist organization, I’m quite certain the news will make the press.
India’s internal political calculations will ensure this. Here’s why:
Laloo, the Railway minister, has a core constituency of Muslim votes. Assembly elections are due in all-important UP and there is currently intense jostling for position. BJP is a strong contender in this state with a significant number of Muslims. Finally, with a avowedly ‘secular’ govt in power at the centre, whose main opponent is the BJP, if the trail leads to the RSS brigade, it will see daylight.
Will there be overarching ‘national’ considerations that may compel the govt to throw a blanket of haze on everything? I dont rule it out, but waiting doesn’t hurt.
You are right, the reaction from the Pakistan side has been very measured till now. I hope it remains that way. Given the series of recent bombings in Paksitan and that mostly Pakistanis died in this attack it would have been very easy for Pakistan to point at India and RAW, just like the Indians did after the Mumbai attacks. I hope Pakistan will not do that and that both countries will try to make this an example of joint efforts to fight against terrorists of all kind.
First of all, my condolences to the victims and their families. Most of the people traveling on this train were poor people, visiting their relatives and it is horrible to see them being killed for no reason.
As of now, there is no “Hindu” organization in sight with the motivation or capability of launching a major terrorist attack of this kind, using IEDs and sophisticated explosives. There are organizations capable of rioting, in which people might die, sometimes in large numbers too. Some of their members might even have crude (or sometimes licensed) firearms and other weapons like knives etc. But there is a big leap from a political body that includes rioters and strongmen, to one that plans, organizes and executes a major bombing incident. It is possible that this incident is the first one by one such organization, but it is by no means an automatic conclusion one can draw.
Let us just wait for the investigation to proceed before jumping to conclusions. We do need to find the culprits behind this incident and bring them to book. This will potentially require cooperation between the two Governments. This will be the first test for the joint anti-terror mechanism, which seems like a farce, but deserves a fair chance.
[quote post=”579″]Religion doesn’t creat terrorists, human mind does which has free will. Just yesterday I was in a Sunday Mass of a church and the subject of the sermon was “forgiveness.â€