Pak Stops Samjhauta Express At Wagah Border

Pakistan on Thursday announced the scrapping of the Samjhauta Express service, the only train link between India and Pakistan as part of the retaliatory measure over India scrapping Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistani Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced that they were closing the service permanently amidst tensions in Kashmir.

On Thursday, the train coming from Lahore with 110 passengers, was stopped at Wagah border at 1 pm.

However, India maintained that the service has not been stopped. It said the Pakistani crew stopped the train on their side at Wagah border over concerns of security.

According to a Northern Railway Spokesperson, India sent an engine and its crew to bring the train from Wagah to Attari station of the Indian side.

Samjhauta Express, which travels between Delhi and Lahore, has been an endless victim to the tension between the two neighbours. Early in February, the train operation was suspended in wake of the Pulwama terror. In previous years too, the train has stopped plying as bilateral ties between the two countries would nosedive.