Knives, Swords & Blades

The 2007 Samjhauta Express Bombings Narrative

The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings were a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on the 18^th of February in 2007; these attacks took place on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. As noted by these NPR All Things Considered books, the bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed the Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat, just 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of New Delhi. 68 people were killed in the ensuing fires and explosions; dozens more were injured. Of the 68 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians, but the victims included some Indian civilians and Indian military personnel guarding the train as well.

A number of these NPR All Things Considered books note that Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with improvised explosive devices (so called “IEDs”) and flammable material. These included three undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombings, 8 unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.

Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations—especially since the attack came just one day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. (These circumstances were documented thoroughly in these All Things Considered books.) There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombings. However, as of February 2011, nobody has been charged for the crimes—though the events have been linked to Abhinav Bharat, a shadow-group headed by former army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

Since their formation resulting from the Partition of India in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely states to decide which country they wanted to join. Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.