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'A horrendous act of terrorism'
19/02/2007 09:40 - (SA)
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| An Indian police officer looks at a burnt compartment of a train en route to Pakistan which was hit by explosives, killing at least 64 people. (AP Photo) |
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Islamabad - Pakistan's foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri on Monday condemned a train blast in India which killed at least 66 people as a "horrendous act of terrorism" and said most of the victims were Pakistanis.
Kasuri said he had asked the Indian government to investigate the incident overnight on a "Friendship Express" between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.
"It is a horrendous act of terrorism," Kasuri told reporters during an unrelated official function at the foreign office.
"Most of the dead are Pakistanis but I would like to reserve my comment.
"I would like the Indian government to investigate this incident. We are waiting for the results of the investigation," he said.
The minister said he had instructed the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi to send staff to the site to help Pakistan nationals caught up in the blast.
No change to peace process
But the explosion would cause "no change at all" to his previously announced plans to visit India from February 20 to 23, Kasuri said.
Foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said it was India's responsibility to ensure proper security for the twice-weekly service which runs from the Indian capital to Lahore in Pakistan.
"We condemn it and we express sympathies with the families of the victims," she told AFP.
Asked if the blast would have an impact on the current peace process between India and Pakistan, she said: "We cannot prejudge the motive of this act of terrorism. We will have to wait for Indian investigations."
EU condemns attack
Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday sharply condemned the deadly bomb attack.
"The peace process may not be derailed under any circumstances," Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU commissioner for external relations, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Monday in New Dehli.
It is important to continue the reconciliation and confidence-building measures between the two South Asian neighbours, she said.
Ferrero-Waldner said she was "deeply shocked" over the deaths and offered the victims' families "our deepest condolences".
- AFP
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