New Delhi: Around 70 passengers bound for Delhi have been stranded on the India-Pakistan border for hours following a series of events stemming from bilateral tensions over revocation of Article 370.
The episode began as the Samjhauta Express between Lahore and Delhi, via Attari and Wagah, left India for Pakistan Wednesday night. Different sets of coaches are deputed for the journey on either side of the border.
According to sources in the railways ministry, on its journey back to India, which began in Lahore at 7.30 am Thursday, the train was stopped at the Wagah border by its Pakistani crew over fears that they would be unsafe across the border. Within an hour of this, Pakistan cancelled the Samjhauta Express.
“…Samjhauta Express services have been permanently stopped. The people who had already purchased their tickets can get their money reimbursed from Lahore DS office,” Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
In an official statement, New Delhi asked Islamabad to not “present an alarming picture to the world of our bilateral ties”. However, official sources told ThePrint that Pakistan refused to allow the stranded passengers passage through Wagah.
Meanwhile, a verbal duel ensued between railway officials on both sides. Finally, after a lot of deliberations, India was able to convince Pakistan railway authorities to let an Indian crew take a locomotive to Wagah and bring the coaches to Attari.
Also read: Imran Khan warns revoking Article 370 could spark India-Pakistan war
Negotiations on
Senior officials of the Ministry of Railways said India will be sending a crew, including an engine driver, guard and co-guard, with a locomotive that will cross the Zero Line and enter Pakistan. It will then be attached to the coaches of the stranded train and bring the passengers back to Attari.
Since the coaches are Pakistan’s, the locomotive will drive them back to Wagah once the passengers are dropped at Attari. On this leg, the train will also carry passengers who are waiting to reach Lahore from Attari.
According to ministry officials, the passengers bound for Delhi will be taken to the Old Delhi Junction via the Samjhauta Link Express 14001, as they usually are.
However, formal permissions for the transfer had not been issued by the time this report was published as, according to the sources, both India and Pakistan were caught in the process of obtaining approvals from their respective authorities.
Also read: Pakistan Army says will go to ‘any extent’ against India’s Kashmir move
Yeh ishq nahin hai aasaan. If resolving this issue was so simple, it would have happened ages ago. There have been statesmen on both sides. Instead, value small steps, like the Samjhauta Express and the Muzaffarabad bus service. This Gordian knot cannot be sliced through, we have to work lovingly on one knot at a time.