Pakistan’s acting foreign secretary on Wednesday summoned the Indian High Commissioner to lodge the country’s protest and condemnation of the acquittal of all four accused in the Samjhauta Express train bombing by an NIA court.
On Wednesday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had acquitted the four accused, including Swami Aseemanand, for the deadly bombing of the Samjhauta Express in 2007. A total of 68 people, including more than 40 Pakistani passengers, had died in the attack.
Lodging Pakistan’s condemnation against the acquittal of the accused, the acting foreign secretary “stressed that Pakistan had consistently raised the lack of progress and the subsequent, concerted attempts by India to exonerate the perpetrators of this heinous terrorist act in which 44 innocent Pakistanis lost their lives”, a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
Contending that the acquittal of the accused “makes a travesty of justice”, Pakistan called on India to explore judicial remedies to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
During the course of the investigation, it was found that terrorists had used improvised explosive devices for the blasts near Panipat in Haryana. The investigators had also found two unexploded suitcase bombs in other compartments of the train.
Over the last two years, Swami Aseemananad had been cleared by courts of terror charges in various cases, including of conspiracy in the 2007 bombings at Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid and Rajasthan’s Ajmer Dargah. The Samjhauta Express case was the last of the pending cases against the 67-year-old preacher.
First Published:
Mar 20, 2019 21:30 IST
Source: HindustanTimes