LAHORE – The Samjhota Express train service between Pakistan and India resumed operations on Monday as the security situation between the South Asian neighbours has improved after weeks of heightened tensions.
The train carrying 195 passengers left for Attari via Wagah Border, the Radio Pakistan reported. The Samjhuta Express is normally run between the two neighboring countries on Monday and Thursday.
On February 28, the train operation was suspended, leaving Indian passengers stuck in Lahore railway station for four days.
India and Pakistan came to the brink of war this week as tensions escalated following a suicide car bombing that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-occupied Kashmir. India accusing Pakistan of harbouring the Jaish-e Mohammad group behind the attack, which Islamabad denied.
The two nuclear-armed countries then engaged in an air battle and India lost jets in it after carrying out an air strike on what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad, considered a terrorist group both by India and Pakistan.
Pakistan also captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman after his MiG-21 fighter jet was shot down during a dogfight near the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27. He was released by Islamabad on Friday night as a “peace gesture”.
While India has accused Pakistan of supporting the militants and having a “direct hand” in the incident, Pakistan, in turn, has rejected the allegations, accusing India of being responsible for human rights violations taking place in Kashmir.
