Samjhauta Express, stopped at Wagah border by Pakistani authorities, reaches Delhi 4.5 hours behind schedule

New Delhi: The Samjhauta Express which was stopped at the Wagah border by Pakistani authorities on Thursday reached Delhi station at 8 am on Friday, four-and-a-half hours behind schedule, the railways said. [caption id=“attachment_6193031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Samjhauta Express. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The train that runs between India and Pakistan came with 117 passengers, including 48 Pakistanis, it said. On Thursday, these passengers were stranded at Wagah on the Pakistani side after it was stopped there by the neighbouring country’s authorities citing security concerns. The Indian railways had sent one engine along with crew and guard to escort the train from Wagah to Attari on the Indian side. On Thursday, hundreds of passengers from both sides of the border were stuck for several hours waiting for security clearances following the disruption in the train service that connects Delhi and Lahore. After several hours of waiting, the Samjhauta Express headed for Lahore departed from Attari at 6.41 pm with 103 passengers, including 10 Pakistanis, railway officials had said. The train that arrived in Attari, escorted by Indian crew members, had 117 passengers, including 48 Pakistanis, on board, they said. From Attari, the train left around 8 pm on Thursday, officials said. A day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi over developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan’s Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media in Islamabad on Thursday that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India. However, railway officials here said the train has not been suspended.