Samjhota Express suspended in wake of rising tensions

Foreign Office states train service will resume as soon as the security situation improves

Amid escalating tension between Pakistan and India, the Samjhota Express was suspended on Thursday, said a statement by the Foreign Office (FO).

The Samjhota Express – a bi-weekly train – runs from Lahore to India's Attari.

The suspension of the train service left 16 travellers at the railway station. A total of 21 people had booked tickets for the train, out of which five had cancelled their tickets. The remaining passengers were informed of the cancellation.



Immigration officials told Express News that due to the suspension of the Samjhota Express, the travelers would be sent to India via road through the Wagah Border. Preparations for the departure of visiting Indians, whose visas expire today, are being made.

The FO statement added that the train service will resume as soon as the security situation improves between India and Pakistan.



Tensions escalated dramatically between Pakistan and India on February 14 when a young man – a native of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) – rammed an explosives-laden car into an Indian military convoy, killing 44 soldiers.