Pakistan closed on Thursday the Samjhota Express train service with India amid growing tensions between the two states triggered by New Delhi's decision to strip the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2019) Pakistan closed on Thursday the Samjhota Express train service with India amid growing tensions between the two states triggered by New Delhi's decision to strip the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Earlier this week, the Indian government announced its decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, which granted the state a certain degree of autonomy for several decades, and split it in two union territories. One of them, Ladakh, will not be allowed its own legislature, but both will be controlled by the central government. This move prompted clashes on the Indian-Pakistani line of control and forced Islamabad to downgrade its diplomatic relations and suspend trade with its neighbor.
"Till I am the railways minister, Samjhota Express train service will not operate," Ahmed said as quoted by Geo tv broadcaster.
According to the minister, all those who bought Samjhota Express tickets will receive a refund.
"Decision taken by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to annex Kashmir is highly unwise and such decisions change the course of history. The hearts of Kashmiris and Pakistanis beat in unison," the minister added.
According to the broadcaster, the train service was suspended earlier this year during a previous round of escalating tensions between the two states, but later the service was resumed.
The train, known as the Friendship Express, used to run between India's Delhi and Pakistan's Lahore twice a week.
India and Pakistan have contended for the Kashmir region, the southern part of which lies in India's Jammu and Kashmir state, since the end of British rule in 1947. Despite a ceasefire being reached in 2003 following several armed conflicts, instability has continued, leading to the emergence of various extremist groups. Tensions spiked earlier this year when the Indian military conducted airstrikes in the region in response to an attack orchestrated by a terrorist group based on the Pakistani side of Kashmir.
