Pak team arrives for talks on Samjhuata Express

Pak team arrives for talks on Samjhuata Express
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JAN 16: A five-member team of Pakistani railway officials arrived in the Capital today to ensure that the Samjhauta Express, linking the two countries, stays on track.

Starting tomorrow, the team will hold a series of meetings with their Indian counterparts to renew the contract for running of the train. The Pakistani side has been demanding that the train run till Amritsar as per the original agreement and not be terminated at Attari, just inside the Indian border.

However, the Indian side has been resisting the move citing a security threat as the reason. The Samjhauta Express is considered one of the easiest modes for smuggling of arms, ammunition, explosives, fake currency and entry of terrorists into India.

``Most Pakistanis do not get a visa for Punjab. So it does not make any sense for Samjhauta to run through till Amritsar,'' a senior railway official explained. And it is not just the railway ministry that decides the modalities of the train. It is the ministry of external affairs, home affairs, customs and other intelligence agencies which provide inputs that go into running of the train.

As per the agreement between India and Pakistan in 1976, the Samjhauta Express -- the only passenger train between the two countries -- was to run between Amritsar and Lahore. However, the train services were disrupted after the 1991 Ayodhya demolition and the agreement was reviewed. A fresh agreement was signed and reviewed in 1994 and again in 1997.

Over a period of time, the train has effectively come to run between Attari and Wagah (the Pakistani side of the border). After a stringent customs check at Wagah, the passengers board the same train to take them up to Lahore. However, on the Indian side, an Attari special train brings the passengers to Delhi. The train does not stop at Amritsar and runs through without halting there.

The 1991 agreement, valid till July 7, 2000, was renewed for a further six months. The two countries mutually decided to extend it by another month till February 7, 2001, to enable the two sides to hold a meeting. ``We have to finalise a few things before the renewal of the contract. That is why the Pakistani team is here,'' the official said.

The Indian team, headed by Additional Member (traffic) S.S. Bhandari, and the Pakistani side led by Additional General Manager (freight) Abdul Qayyum will also discuss the running of goods trains between the two countries. ``The Indian railways is in the process of phasing out the old CRT type wagons with faster, safer and much improved BCX and BCN type. This will be discussed as will the issue of settlement of accounts,'' the official added.