Samjhota Express suspended: Sh Rashid says train service to resume from 4th

LAHORE: Pakistan authorities on Thursday suspended operations of the Samjhota Express in the wake of rising tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.

The Foreign Office, in a statement said: "The operation of the Samjhota Express has been suspended on Thursday in view of the prevailing tensions between Pakistan and India." The train will resume its operations as soon as the security situation improves between India and Pakistan, it added.

The train which runs between Lahore and Atari was scheduled to depart on Thursday at 8am.

The additional general manager, Pakistan Railways, said the decision to suspend the train service was taken to avert any untoward incident in light of heightened security concerns. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said the Samjhota Express service will be resumed from Monday.

In a statement, the minister said Indian television anchors are fighting the war instead of Indian army. He criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and advised him to handle the situation calmly.