NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, Dec 20: The Pakistan Railways said on Thursday that while investigation was still under way, sabotage did not appear to be the cause of derailment of the Karachi Express which, according to the revised figures, killed at least 40 people and injured 249 others on Wednesday night.

An FIR lodged by the guard of the train and statements of some officials and passengers initially indicated that a fault in rail track might have caused the accident.

“The real cause has not been ascertained yet,” said Pakistan Railways’ operations manager Junaid Qureshi.

The FIR has been lodged under Sections 337-G, 320, 427 of the PPC and Section 129 of the Railways Act. The police told Dawn that guard Ghulam Shabbir Chandio had stated in the FIR that the accident had taken place due to the train’s jerk.

The train driver told police that the train was running at normal speed of 105-kph when the accident took place.

Opinion

Editorial

Removing subsidies
Updated 09 May, 2026

Removing subsidies

The government no longer has the budgetary space to continue carrying hundreds of billions of rupees in untargeted subsidies while the power sector itself remains trapped in circular debt, inefficiencies, theft and under-recovery.
Scarred at home
09 May, 2026

Scarred at home

WHEN homes turn violent towards children, the psychosocial damage is lifelong. In Pakistan, parental violence is...
Zionist zealotry
09 May, 2026

Zionist zealotry

BOTH the Israeli military and far-right citizens of the Zionist state have been involved in appalling hate crimes...
Shifting climate tone
Updated 08 May, 2026

Shifting climate tone

Our financial system is geared towards short-term, risk-averse lending, while climate adaptation and green infrastructure require patient, long-term capital.
Honour and impunity
08 May, 2026

Honour and impunity

THE Sindh Assembly’s discussion on karo-kari this week reminds us of the enduring nature of ‘honour’ killings...
No real change
08 May, 2026

No real change

THE Indian sports ministry’s move to allow Pakistani players and teams to participate in multilateral events ...