Samjhauta Express arrives in Delhi with 117 passengers on board

The Samjhauta Express which was stopped at the Wagah border by Pakistani authorities on Thursday reached Old Delhi railway station with 117 passengers at 8:05 am on Friday, four-and-a-half hours behind schedule, the railways said.

It said the train was delayed because it was held up at Wagah on the Pakistani side and passengers arrived late at Attari on the Indian side, where also formalities took time to complete.

On Thursday, the passengers were stranded at Wagah after the train was stopped there by the neighbouring country's authorities citing security concerns. The Indian railways had sent one engine along with crew and guard to escort the train from Wagah to Attari.

The train escorted by the Indian crew members arrived at Attari with 117 passengers, including 48 Pakistanis, and proceeded towards Delhi, officials said.

The scheduled departure of the Delhi-bound train was 8 pm, but it was delayed resulting in its late arrival here, they said.

Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media in Islamabad on Thursday that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India, a day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi over developments in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, Indian railway officials had said the train service has not been suspended and they had no information from the neighbouring country on it.

The train departs from Delhi on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Whether or not it has been cancelled on the Indian side will become clear on Sunday when its next run from Delhi is scheduled.

-PTI

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