2tuff
19-02-2007, 04:29 PM
Leaders condemn India train blast
Monday, 19 February 2007, 13:27 GMT
India and Pakistan have condemned a train bombing that killed at least 66 people as an act of terrorism aimed at disrupting their peace process.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf vowed the attack would stiffen their resolve to reach a sustainable peace.
The train, running from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan, was hit by two blasts at about midnight (1830 GMT Sunday) near Panipat, 80km (50 miles) from Delhi.
The ensuing fire swept through two carriages of the "Friendship Express".
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says it is thought three-quarters of the 750 people on the train were Pakistanis, as were most of the dead.
'Anguish and grief'
President Musharraf said the attack was a heinous crime.
"Such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desire objective of sustainable peace," he said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" and vowed the culprits would be caught.
The blasts happened a day before Pakistan's foreign minister was due in Delhi for talks with Indian leaders.
The minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said the explosion was a "horrendous act of terrorism" but it would not change his plans to visit India from 20-23 February.
The reaction from both governments suggests the prime suspects might be groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - the main Islamic militant groups who have been blamed for many high-profile bombings, says the BBC's Jill McGivering.
Recent attacks on Delhi, Mumbai and Varanasi, for example, seemed designed to damage India's image abroad and stoke anti-Pakistan feeling inside India.
But the fact that so many of the dead on the train were Pakistani Muslims may indicate that the devices were intended for a different target, or exploded prematurely, she says.
Initial investigations suggest explosives in suitcases ignited bottles of paraffin to start a blaze.
Witnesses said they saw people screaming and struggling to get out of the fire-stricken carriages.
The BBC's Soutik Biswas, reporting from the scene, said the heat of the flames had peeled the blue paint off the coaches, and oil and cinders covered the tracks.
FULL ARTICLE AT: LINK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6375749.stm) or LINK (http://z13.invisionfree.com/THE_UNHIVED_MIND/index.php?showtopic=21344&st=0&)
Monday, 19 February 2007, 13:27 GMT
India and Pakistan have condemned a train bombing that killed at least 66 people as an act of terrorism aimed at disrupting their peace process.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf vowed the attack would stiffen their resolve to reach a sustainable peace.
The train, running from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan, was hit by two blasts at about midnight (1830 GMT Sunday) near Panipat, 80km (50 miles) from Delhi.
The ensuing fire swept through two carriages of the "Friendship Express".
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says it is thought three-quarters of the 750 people on the train were Pakistanis, as were most of the dead.
'Anguish and grief'
President Musharraf said the attack was a heinous crime.
"Such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desire objective of sustainable peace," he said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" and vowed the culprits would be caught.
The blasts happened a day before Pakistan's foreign minister was due in Delhi for talks with Indian leaders.
The minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said the explosion was a "horrendous act of terrorism" but it would not change his plans to visit India from 20-23 February.
The reaction from both governments suggests the prime suspects might be groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - the main Islamic militant groups who have been blamed for many high-profile bombings, says the BBC's Jill McGivering.
Recent attacks on Delhi, Mumbai and Varanasi, for example, seemed designed to damage India's image abroad and stoke anti-Pakistan feeling inside India.
But the fact that so many of the dead on the train were Pakistani Muslims may indicate that the devices were intended for a different target, or exploded prematurely, she says.
Initial investigations suggest explosives in suitcases ignited bottles of paraffin to start a blaze.
Witnesses said they saw people screaming and struggling to get out of the fire-stricken carriages.
The BBC's Soutik Biswas, reporting from the scene, said the heat of the flames had peeled the blue paint off the coaches, and oil and cinders covered the tracks.
FULL ARTICLE AT: LINK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6375749.stm) or LINK (http://z13.invisionfree.com/THE_UNHIVED_MIND/index.php?showtopic=21344&st=0&)