“We are determined to investigate the blasts and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice”, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said. “We hope that the authorities in Pakistan will extend all cooperation in the investigations, whenever required, in the interest of identifying and punishing the guilty,” he added.

Earlier in the day, seven Pakistani nationals injured in the blast were airlifted to their country. A special Pakistan Air Force flight C-130 flew in, with a medical team, to take the injured home.

The remaining three injured Pakistanis have preferred to go to Panipat and will return via Wagah.

So far, 33 out of 68 dead have been identified. As many as 27 bodies are those of Pakistani nationals. Of these, 21 have been handed over to the relatives, the MEA spokesperson said and added that the government was providing “all assistance to the relatives of the victims from Pakistan to come to India.”

The special visa camps that have been set up by the High Commission of India in Islamabad and Lahore are still working. The Haryana and Punjab Government is facilitating the relatives of the victims who have approached it.

Meanwhile, India today slammed Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s tirade against New Delhi’s alleged non-cooperative attitude in providing details of the victims of the Samjhauta Express blast, saying he should get in “touch with his foreign office”.

Continuing his attack against Indian officials, Rashid today said “no information was being provided by India about the dead and his efforts to get in touch with Indian Railway officials proved futile.” He said the peace process was confined to a “privileged class” and has not percolated to the masses.

However, Indian officials here expressed surprise as to why the Pakistan Railway Minister was not getting in touch with his own Foreign Office, which is coordinating the relief work with its High Commission in New Delhi as well as the Indian Government.

(With PTI)

Pak hopes outcome before joint meet

NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Thursday hoped India would share with it the outcome of the probe into the Samjhauta blast before the March 6 meeting of Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism so that “meaningful contribution” can be made to the fight against terror. A day after his talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khushid Kasuri told TV channels here that he had been assured by his Indian counterpart that all the information regarding the investigation would be shared either before or during the anti-terror mechanism meeting in Islamabad. PTI