Samjhauta Express arrives Delhi 4.5 hours late

Indian Muslim passengers returning from Pakistan on the Samjhauta Express, also called the Friendship Express, unload their belongings after arriving at Atari railway station, some 35 km from Amritsar on August 8, 2019. Pic/AFP

New Delhi: The Samjhauta Express on Thursday reached Delhi station at 8 am on Friday, four-and-a-half hours behind schedule as it was stopped at the Wagah border by Pakistani authorities, sources from the railways said. The train that runs between India and Pakistan came with 117 passengers in which 48 Pakistanis were included, it said.

These 117 passengers were stranded at Wagah on the Pakistani side after it was stopped there by the Pakistani authorities citing security concerns. The Indian railways had sent one engine along with crew and guard to escort the train from Wagah to Attari on the Indian side.

Hundreds of passengers from both sides of the border were stuck on Thursday for several hours as they waited for security clearances following the disruption in the train service that connects Delhi and Lahore. Their wait came to an end as after several hours of waiting, the Samjhauta Express headed for Lahore departed from Attari at 6:41 pm with 103 passengers, including 10 Pakistanis, railway officials told news agency ANI. From Attari, the train left around 8 pm on Thursday, officials said.

Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media in Islamabad on Thursday that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India in a move that came after a day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi over developments in Jammu and Kashmir. However, railway officials in India said the train has not been suspended.

Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from ANI

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