Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – At least 66 people were killed in a bomb attack on the 'Friendship Express’, a train linking India and Pakistan which was seen as a sign of rapprochement between the two nations. The authorities also confirmed that at least 13 injured people have been found, many of who are in very serious condition with extensive burns.
Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav told the press: “Two crude explosives, probably put in two suitcases, went off in two carriages, starting a huge fire that quickly overwhelmed the train and passengers.” The victims “burned to death”.
The minister continued: “The intention is clear - it is an effort to destabilise peace between India, Pakistan. Innocent people have been killed.” The authorities found other bombs scattered among wagons that escaped from the blast and the railway tracks.
A spokesman for the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said “all evidence goes to show that the fire on the train was caused by an act of terrorism”. The premier expressed "anguish and grief" in a public statement and promised that “the culprits will be caught”. Most victims were from Pakistan.
Anonymous secret service officials linked the attack to blasts (also terrorist) that destroyed trains and railway stations in the financial capital Mumbai on 11 July 2006. Those attacks left 186 people dead and more than 800 wounded.
Those attacks led India to suspend for a few months a peace process with Pakistan launched in 2004. New Delhi accused Pakistan of hosting the militants responsible for the blasts. This time, however, the two governments have already expressed their intention to press ahead with peace talks.
Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Kursheed Mehmood Kasuri, has decided not to cancel a visit to India slated for tomorrow. His spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam, said: “Why should we change? Pakistan condemns this act of terrorism in which many precious human lives were lost but this must not stop the good relations between India and Pakistan.”
Anyhow, he added: “It is the responsibility of the Indian authorities to provide security for its trains in its territory. We expect the Indian authorities to punish those responsible.”