FAISALABAD, Feb 19: A family which lost six of its members in the Samjhota Express tragedy had gone to Charolhi near New Delhi to attend a wedding.
Rana Shaukat of Samanabad, his wife Rukhsana and their six children went to India on Jan 20 to attend the wedding of Shabbir Ahmed, Shaukat's nephew who lived in the same locality of Faisalabad. Shabbir and most other guests had returned to Pakistan a few days ago. Shaukat, Rukhsana and their six children -- Ayesha, 15, Asima, 8, Aqsa, 1, Bilal, 12, Hamza, 10, and Rehman, 4, -- had stayed behind as they waited for the completion of travel documents of Shabbir's wife, an Indian national.
They were scheduled to return home on Tuesday after an overnight stay in Lahore.
Their journey was cut short by the explosions soon after they boarded the Samjhota Express in Delhi.
According to initial reports only Shaukat and one-year-old Aqsa have survived the inferno that followed the two blasts on the train.
They were being treated at a hospital in New Delhi where Shaukat's condition was stated to be critical.
