Lahore: The Samjhota Express will leave Lahore for Attari on Monday (Oct 12) at its scheduled time.

“We will send it as we did on Thursday,” Pakistan Railways Chief Executive Officer Javed Anwar told Dawn. He said adequate housing facility had been provided to the stranded Indian citizens.

Another officer from the railways who is involved in the operation of the international train that takes passengers between Wagah and Attari on Mondays and Thursdays, said tickets issued to passengers who could not cross over on Thursday would be valid for Monday’s journey.

Take a look: Delhi-bound Samjhota sent back to Lahore from border

The officer said that Samjhota Express had a capacity of around 500 passengers.

“During the last year, the average has been 150 or so. A maximum of 225 passengers have travelled so far. The question of overcrowding does not arise,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indian citizens staying at the Lahore railway station’s green lounge expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the Pakistan authorities.

‘Adequate housing facility has been provided to stranded Indian citizens’

An Indian citizen who wished to remain anonymous said he hoped the government would ensure that such incidents would not reoccur and travellers from both countries would be facilitated.

In Islamabad, meanwhile Pakistan expressed concerns over the suspension of Samjhota Express operations that caused inconvenience to more than 200 Pakistani and Indian passengers.

Acting Deputy High Commissioner of India Raghuram was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Dr Mohammad Faisal, the Director General (South Asia), to express concerns over the matter.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that the government of Pakistan had taken all necessary steps to accommodate the stranded Indian passengers who were not permitted to cross the border on Oct 8.

“We expect the Indian side to make utmost efforts to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future and facilitate the travellers from Pakistan and India,” the Foreign Office added.

Published in Dawn, October 10th , 2015

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