Samjhota Train Tragedy: Pakistan’s National Assembly for Joint Probe     
By Maria A Khan 'Pakistan Times' Diplomatic Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly of Pakistan Tuesday condemned Samjhota Express sabotage incident and demanded of India to form a joint investigation team and hold impartial probe of the train inferno.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Sher Afgan tabled a unanimous motion after a detailed debate in the house.

The motion condoling with the families of victims demanded of the railway ministries of Pakistan and India to ensure safe journey between the two countries.

Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed while addressing the lower house of the parliament accused Indian railway officials of non-cooperation in providing details of the dead and injured Pakistanis in the blasts.

He also said that the Indian authorities stopped Samjhota Express at Attari for six hours for no apparent reason. He said despite clearance from security agencies the passengers were brought in locked compartments.

Rashid said a C-130 transport plane and a special train with a team of doctors was ready to bring the bodies back to Pakistan, waiting for green signal from India.

The state minister for foreign affairs Khusro Bakhtiar told the house that the Indian authorities have informed that identities of 49 dead bodies have been established in which 22 are Pakistan nationals.

The authorities are considering arranging DNA tests of the unidentified dead bodies, he said.

He termed the incident a conspiracy of enemies of peace adding that the Pak-India talks scheduled to be held on March 06 would not be affected by the incident.

Participating in the debate most of the parliamentarians from treasury benches as well as the opposition termed the incident as an act by the enemies of the bilateral peace process.

Pakistan not to Politicize

Meanwhile, Foreign Office Spokesperson Ms Tasneem Aslam Tuesday said that Pakistan has made no attempt to politicize the Samjhota train incident.

In a televised interview she said that Pakistan does not want to secure points on the dead bodies.

The incident is unfortunate because it has claimed the lives of innocent people, she said.

She said the perpetrators planted the devices in the coaches where there was the concentration of Pakistani passengers and they might possibly have slipped from the premises after doing so.

The nature of the incident tells that there were some security laps on part of the relevant Indian authorities, she observed.

She said that Pakistan is also in the grip of terrorist wave but the incidents taking place here are the suicide attacks adding there is no technology to have a foolproof check on such acts.

To a question she said that Pakistan has been making sustained efforts to ensure the continuity of peace process with India.

She said the leadership on both the sides has committed that anti-peace elements would not be allowed to influence the peace process.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri is visiting India as per schedule and the incident will have no impact whatsoever on this visit.

This incident will of-course come under discussion during the visit of Foreign Minister along-with other matters already on the list, Ms Tasnim said.

To another question she said that government of Pakistan is fully prepared to bring back the injured and the dead from India, adding permission is awaited from the other side.

She said that 11 of the injured persons were in critical conditions and they may not be able to travel at present.

PHC Gets List of 12

The High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi on Tuesday received from the Indian authorities a list of 12 Pakistani nationals whose bodies have been identified by their relatives at the mortuary in Panipat.

According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, the particulars are as follows:

1. Mrs. Razia Sultan W/o Izhar R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

2. Izhar Hussain , Mohammad Baksh R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

3. Syed Iftikhar Ali, Rabal Ali R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

4. Ashraf Jehan W/o Syed Iftikhar Ali R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

5. Ms. Mehak D/o Syed Iftikhar Ali R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

6. Syed Hassan Ali, Syed Iftikhar Ali R/o 354/15A North Wafar Zone Karachi, Pakistan

7. Taslim Khan S/o Idris R/o Moh. Churipara Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

8. Shafik Ahmad Makbool Khan R/o 54 Sec. 5-e Majad Mohala, Karachi, Pakistan

9. Ms. Nifisa Begum Taslim Khan R/o Moh. Churipara, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

10. Ms. Mehreen Khan D/o Taslim Khan R/o Moh Churipara Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

11. Rauf Amin S/o Taslim Khan R/o Moh. Churipara Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

12. Mohd Sajid S/o Taslim Khan R/o Moh. Churipara Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

In addition to the above, one Pakistani national namely Muhammad Haris S/o Sheikh Rashid, R/o Orangi Town, Karachi, passed away at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi this morning.

"This brings the total number of identified Pakistani fatalities so far to 13. We expect to receive further information from the Indian authorities in this regard", the press statement said.

Furthermore, the Indian authorities have informed that the bodies of persons identified at Sr. No. 7-12 have been handed over to their relatives who are taking them to Pakistan.

The High Commission is facilitating their repatriation.

266 Passengers Reach Karachi

‘Pakistan Times’ Sindh Bureau adds from Karachi; Some 266 survivors of ill-fated Samjhota Express, arrived here Tuesday evening from Lahore onboard Sindh Express.

In all 294 passengers returning from India to Pakistan left Lahore by Sindh Express and of them 28 disembarked at Hyderabad.

Pathetic scenes were witnessed when the train carrying survivors, steamed into Cantonment Railway Station.

As they disembarked, they broke into tears when received by their relatives who were so sad on the big tragedy claiming 67 lives of fellow Pakistanis, women and children.

Present at the station to receive the grieved passengers were Divisional Superintendent Mir Mohammed Khaskheli and Divisional Officers.

Coffins lie ready fo the bodies of victims of the Samjhauta (Friendship) Express bomb blast outside the mortuary the Civil Hospital in Panipat some 100 Kms north of New Delhi.

Death Toll Mounts to 68

And a story from New Delhi says that the death toll of Samjhota Express blasts reached to 68 among which 49 have been identified so far. The injured included 22 Pakistanis.

A Pakistani national injured in the blasts died in a hospital here early this morning, taking the toll in the terror attack to 68.

Admitted in a critical condition yesterday at Safdarjung Hospital, 15-year-old Haris Mohammed, a resident of Karachi, succumbed to his injuries.

He had suffered 55 per cent burn injuries, Safdarjung Hospital Medical Superintendent R L Salhan said.

Haris along with other 11 injured were shifted to Safdarjung hospital from Civil Hospital in Panipat yesterday.

Nawaz, Shahbaz Shocked

Raza Mumtaz 'Pakistan Times' Executive Editor/UK Bureau Chief adds from London; PML-N leaders Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif have expressed their deep sense of grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the Samjhota Express blast.

In a statement released here on Tuesday, both PML-N leaders termed the attack as a great tragedy and said that the governments of Pakistan and India should thoroughly investigate this incident and fix responsibility so that the perpetrators of this heinous crime could be brought to justice.

The PML-N leaders also prayed for the departed souls and extended condolences to their relatives.●