Samjhota blast: Pakistan demands justice for perpetrators
“It took almost four years for the Samjhota Express investigations to come to this pass. We can only hope that no further time will be squandered in bringing the criminals to justice,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Abdul Basit said.
Basit was responding to a question on Pakistan’s reaction to Aseemanand’s confession about the involvement of Sangh activists in several terrorist attacks, including the 2007 bombing of the Samjhota Express that killed nearly 70 people, majority of them Pakistanis.
“The reported confession by Aseemanand underlines the need for avoiding unhelpful knee-jerk reactions as was done in India (at the time of the attack),” Basit said.
“We look forward to hearing from India officially. The relatives of 42 Pakistani victims of the Samjhota Express terrorist action are desperately waiting for their protracted trauma to come to an end,” he added.
Pakistan has asked India several times over the past two years to inform it of developments in the investigation into the Samjhota Express bombing.
Asked if Pakistani authorities would like to question the accused in the Samjhota case, Indian Express newspaper quoted Basit as saying: “First we would like to get information through official channels, then we will decide on our response.”
Jatin Chatterjee alias Aseemanand, 59, has given a detailed description of the involvement of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists and self-styled spiritual leaders in several terror attacks across India during the past three years in his confessional statement given to a special CBI court in New Delhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ