 The blasts, which killed mostly Pakistanis returning home after visiting relatives in India, came just 24 hours before Pakistan's foreign minister was due in New Delhi for a fresh round of talks to resolve the status of Kashmir.
The attack, mounted using crude kerosene-based incendiary devices packed into suitcases, set off fires in two of the carriages shortly after midnight local time as the train reached Panipat, an industrial town 50 miles north of New Delhi.
The train link, known as the "Friendship Express", was re-started after a two-year hiatus in 2004 as a peace dividend, reuniting families divided by the Partition of India in 1947.
Indian police said that the death toll would have been considerably higher had two other explosive devices that were found on the train not failed to detonate. Some Stats: 1947: Partition of India and Pakistan.
1948: Ceasefire follows first Indo-Pakistan War. India retains two-thirds of Kashmir, Pakistan the rest.
1965: Second war.
1971: Third war, leading to birth of Bangladesh.
1989: Insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir.
1998: Both countries conduct nuclear tests.
1999: Border war in Kashmir. More than1,200 soldiers from both sides die.
2002: Islamists attack Indian parliament. New Delhi blames Pakistan and mobilises army. Shadow of nuclear war looms
2004: Peace process begins
2006: Mumbai train blasts kill 186. Talks suspended.
2007: Train bombing yesterday ahead of fourth round of peace talks today. |
