Pakistan, India renew rail communication agreement for three years

ISLAMABAD: While both Pakistan and India are yet to find a “mutually convenient” date for their foreign secretaries to meet in Islamabad, diplomatic contacts nevertheless continue with Friday seeing both sides renewing the 1976 Rail Communication Agreement for another three years. The agreement signed on 28 June, 1976 enables India-Pakistan rail communication both in respect of goods and passenger traffic. There was no official word from the Foreign Office on this renewal.

A look at the original 1976 treaty shows that from Pakistan Railways it was Shaikh Anwar Hussain, joint secretary, who signed on the dotted lines together with his Indian counterpart R Srinvasan.

An announcement was made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Friday that the agreement between the governments of India and Pakistan relating to rail communication has been extended by mutual consent through diplomatic channels for the period of three years from 19 January, 2016 to 18 January, 2019”.

At present, both goods and passengers travel across the border on the Delhi-Lahore route visa Attari-Wagah. The Jodhpur-Karachi train line crossing at Khokhrapar-Munabao on the border takes in main passenger traffic.

On Thursday, Pakistan once again reminded India to share the findings of over 40 Pakistanis killed in the 2007 terrorist attack on the Samjhauta Express. The spokesman had said that it was important to do away with unsubstantiated allegations by India regarding Pakistan’s role in terrorism as it undermined the efforts against terrorism. “We wish India to share the investigation into the Samjhauta Express tragedy and expect it to share the report in this regard,” he said.

So far, 47 treaties have been inked by the two countries with the first one signed on 10 December, 1947 when an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation of income between the two came into existence.

The last one to be signed was on 21September, 2012 when both sides agreed on cooperation and mutual assistance in custom matters.