LAHORE, April 4: A six-member delegation comprising senior Indian officers will be reaching here on Friday to renew the agreement to run Samjhota Express between Atari and Lahore and vice versa.

Officials at the Pakistan Railways headquarters in Lahore told this reporter on Wednesday that the pact regarding the train’s operation expired in January this year. A three-month extension in the operation was agreed by both the Indian and Pakistani authorities who decided to meet in April to formally renew the agreement.

The rail link was severed on Dec 31, 2001, when New Delhi unilaterally severed its ties with Islamabad and cut off all air, road and rail links after an attack on its parliament, alleging ‘Pakistan-based’ militants for the incident.

India deployed its forces on Pakistan borders, but had to withdraw after around one-and-a-half years. The changing world scenario forced the two Asian neighbours to make peace and open people-to-people links.

The Samjhota resumed its once a week operation after a break of two years on Jan 15, 2004. The train started running between Lahore and Atari on Mondays and Thursdays from Nov 28 the following year. The frequency of the train operation was enhanced keeping in view the increase in number of passengers in the light of a five-year agreement signed between Pakistan and Indian railway authorities in December 2003.

The Indians would return on April 10, PR officials said.