2007 Samjhauta Express bombings

Samjhauta Express bombings
Location	Panipat, Haryana, India
Date	February 18 - 19, 2007
Target	Samjhauta Express train
Attack type	Improvised explosive devices
Deaths	68

The Samjhauta Express bombings were terrorist attacks that occurred just before midnight and into the early hours of February 19, 2007, on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the sixty-eight fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians, but the victims included some Indian civilians and military guarding the train. The attack occurred when two bombs exploded in different general compartments filled with passengers just after the train passed Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat, 90 kilometres (50 miles) north of New Delhi. Officials found evidence of suitcases with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and flammable material, including three un-detonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside over a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. Eight unaffected compartments of the train were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.

Both the Indian and Pakistani governments have condemned the terrorist attacks, and officials on both sides have speculated that the attack was intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders.

Details

Panipat

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Location of Panipat within the state of Haryana

Two coaches of the Samjhauta Express traveling between India and Pakistan caught fire after twin blasts rocked the railway carriages at around 11:53 P.M. IST (18:23 UTC) on Sunday, February 18, 2007, as the train was passing through the railway station in the village of Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat.

After the two explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were left helpless in the smoke-filled areas. One railway employee manning the level crossing at the time stated:

It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as reached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear.

Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. Those people injured were pulled out of the burning carriages onto the track by fellow passengers and local residents. In the end, the terrorist attack left sixty-eight people dead and fifty injured. Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals. The exact number of Pakistanis and Indians killed was not able to be determined because many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The rest of the train, which was not harmed in the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari, before being transferred to a Pakistani train that took passengers to their destination in Lahore.

Reactions

India

Indian Minister of Railways Lalu Prasad Yadav condemned the incident and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan." He also announced compensation payments of Rs. 10,00,000 (approx. €17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured. Home Minister Shivraj Patil claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life in the bombings, and vowed that the culprits behind the terrorist attack would be caught. India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts. Indian analysts argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.

Anti-terror bill

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the attacks and asked the ruling Indian National Congress to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to cut down on cross-border terrorism. It also seeks the creation of a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India.

Pakistan

The government of Pakistan reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, saying that this was an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India and he said he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process." In response to the terrorist attack, President Pervez Musharraf stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."

United Kingdom

United Kingdom Foreign Office Minister of State Kim Howells called the attacks "utterly shameful" and stated that the UK would "like to offer the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." Howells also offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured and condemn utterly this shameful act." Leaders in the British Pakistani community made statements calling the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that the criminals responsible could be arrested and jailed.

United States

The Bush White House condemned those responsible for two bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United States government, White House spokesman David Almacy stated:

We express our deepest sorrow for this tragedy and extend condolences to the families of the victims. We appreciate the leadership of Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh and Pakistani President (Pervez) Musharraf, and condemn those who seek to undermine the progress in relations between the two countries.

Investigation

Indian police have stated that the suitcase bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people and a possible militant connection. The police also released sketches of two suspects in the bombing of a train. The police Inspector General said that the two suspects had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosion rocked the train. The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi. Another man, a Pakistani national who was intoxicated at the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state railway police official said the man "was found in a drunken state and he's being questioned" and that his "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet." Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."

On February 23, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the train bombings. Of the 10 people that were supposed to be evacuated, three people from the same family were missing. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital. Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Navtej Sarna, denied these allegations, and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital. He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 9:00 P.M. local time. After the incident, Ali criticized the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children." He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.

In early March, Haryana police arrested two people from the city of Indore who allegedly sold the suitcases that authorities believe the bombers used in the bombings. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosion of bombs in two compartments of the Samjhauta Express had caused the fire on the train, that ultimately resulted in 68 deaths. The inquiry concluded that the fire was caused by the explosion of bombs in the upper compartments in two coaches — GS 03431 and GS 14857 — of the Samjhauta Express. The probe also showed that the train slowed down to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.4 miles per hour) just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions. On March 31, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.

No major developments have been made in the investigation since late March. Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments accepted a bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between the two countries until 2010. In late April, the Indian and Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing information on passengers travelling on the trains. The train is now under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said, "[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their boarding, and departure of the train." Also in late April, three new coaches equipped with the most advanced fire fighting systems in the country were attached to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-encased system could throw water up to 15 metres (49.2 feet).

See also

• Terrorism in India
• 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings