Samjhota Express bombing acquittals 'historic injustice': Foreign Secretary Janjua

Published March 21, 2019
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua terms the acquittal of the four individuals accused in the Samjhota Express bombing case a "historic injustice", the Foreign Office (FO) said in a press release issued on Thursday. — Photo courtesy Tehmina Janjua Twitter
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua terms the acquittal of the four individuals accused in the Samjhota Express bombing case a "historic injustice", the Foreign Office (FO) said in a press release issued on Thursday. — Photo courtesy Tehmina Janjua Twitter

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua has termed the acquittal of four of the individuals accused in the Samjhota Express bombing case a "historic injustice", the Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday.

A day after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in India's Haryana state acquitted the quartet, Janjua "briefed the diplomatic corps in Islamabad on the injustice done to the 44 Pakistani victims of the 2007 Samjhota Express terrorist attack".

As per the FO press release, the foreign secretary questioned how the Indian court could acquit the suspects, including Swami Aseemanand, whom the FO branded the "mastermind of the heinous attacks and an activist of the Hindu terrorist organisation, RSS who had publicly confessed his involvement".

In February 2007, alleged Hindu extremists had bombed the Samjhota Express, killing 68 people, at least 42 of whom were Pakistanis.

The explosions ripped through the train during its transit through Panipat on its way to Lahore from Delhi.

Janjua today recalled that the NIA had itself earlier issued charge sheets to the perpetrators of the attack.

Additionally, she said that the Indian media had extensively reported about the connections between the Samjhota Express terrorist attack and "Hindu extremists including Lieutenant Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who were subsequently arrested in October 2008, including [the] provision of RDX (research department explosive)."

"On 18 December 2010, Swami Aseemanand, the mastermind of the attack confessed publicly before the New Delhi court that Hindu terror outfits were behind the blasts," the press release added.

The foreign secretary stressed that despite Pakistan's repeated requests for a fair trial and "expeditiously bringing the perpetrators to justice," after a lapse of over 11 years, Indian courts had exonerated the accused.

The press release noted that Pakistan had already registered a "strong demarche" with the Indian high commissioner yesterday against the acquittal.

"The Indian decision to gradually exonerate and finally acquit the perpetrators despite the presence of clear evidence against them, is a reflection of India’s callous insensitivity to the plight of the 44 families of the deceased Pakistanis, who have been waiting for more than a decade to see these terrorists brought to justice. It also demonstrates how India protects terrorists who publicly confessed their odious crimes," the press release stated.

It added that the acquittal was also reflective of the Indian state policy of "promoting and protecting terrorists".

"This state patronage of extremist Hindutva ideology is not only detrimental to the lives and liberty of all minorities in India, but is also dangerous for peace and security in the region."

Janjua also expressed "great concern" that India continued to commit "gross human rights violations" in the Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Furthermore, she expressed concern that a "frenzy" was created against Pakistan to "gain benefits in domestic politics", the Foreign Office said in its statement.

She urged all "fair-minded people" to call on India to explore all "judicial remedies so that the terrorists are brought to justice."

Opinion

Editorial

Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...
Unlearnt lessons
Updated 28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...