Pak seeks update on Samjhauta bombing probe

Pakistan on Monday asked India to provide an early update on the probe into the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing in the wake of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha leader's confession about the involvement of Sangh activists in the attack, in which most of the victims were Pakistanis.

India's acting Deputy High Commissioner G V Srinivas was called to the Pakistan Foreign Office by Director General (South Asia) Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi, who said information on progress in the investigations should be provided by New Delhi "at the earliest".

In an apparent reference to Swami Aseemanand's confession to a special court in New Delhi, a statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office said the Indian diplomat's "attention was drawn to the recent reports in the media on the investigations into the Samjhauta Express blasts of February 2007".

"It was reiterated to him that the government of Pakistan was awaiting the progress made by the government of India in the investigations into the Samjhauta Express blasts," the statement said.

"It was also underlined to Mr Srinivas that a response from the government of India may be conveyed at the earliest," the statement added.

Aseemanand, 59, recently confessed to the involvement of Sangh activists in several terrorist attacks, including the bombing of the Samjhauta Express that killed as many as 68 people, including 42 Pakistanis.

Sources in the Pakistan government told PTI that the foreign office is hoping India will provide an update on the probe into the Samjahuta Express bombing before the foreign secretaries of the two countries hold talks on the margins of a SAARC meeting in Bhutan during February 6-7.

Pakistan had last week asked India to act expeditiously to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Samjhauta Express bombing.

"It took almost four years for the Samjhauta Express investigations to come to this pass. We can only hope that no further time will be squandered in bringing the criminals to justice," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told PTI.

Pakistan has asked India several times in the past two years to apprise it of developments in the investigation.

The issue was raised by Pakistani officials and leaders with Home Minister P Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna when they visited Islamabad last year.