Pakistan Railways authorities on Tuesday said that the decision to send Samjhauta Express train to India will be taken on Thursday after reviewing the security situation in the neighboring country.
The train service was suspended last Monday due to ongoing caste protests in India’s Haryana state.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan and India decided to extend visas of stranded citizens by another week to facilitate them to return to their respective countries after restoration of Samjhauta Train and Dosti Bus services.
Foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, in a statement in Islamabad said on Monday that currently the Samjhota Express train and Dosti bus services are suspended, which has created problems for the Pakistanis who are currently in India and intend to return home.
He said that Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi is in touch with the Indian authorities for the assistance of the stranded Pakistanis.
Similarly, the Indian High Commission has also requested for help to the Indians stranded in Pakistan because of the suspension of the bus and train services.
Fresh rioting and arson erupted in India’s Haryana state in caste protests that have left more than 20 people dead, as New Delhi faced a water crisis after mobs shut down a key supply.
Thousands of troops with shoot-on-sight orders were deployed in Haryana after week-long protests turned violent, with rioters setting fire to homes and railway stations and blocking highways.
The Jat rural caste is leading the protests, demanding that quotas be set for Jats for highly sought-after government jobs and for university seats. Caste members say they are struggling to meet ends despite India’s strong economic growth.
India offers quotas for lower castes to try to bring victims of the country’s worst discrimination into the mainstream. But the government policy causes resentment among other communities, who say it freezes them out.
The latest protests echo caste violence that swept the western state of Gujarat in August last year, leaving several dead.
That state saw weeks of protests by the Patidar or Patel caste, who demanded the same treatment as accorded to the lower castes.
