Islamabad, January 10
Pakistan today asked India to provide an early update to it on the investigations into the 2007 Samjhauta Express train bombing in the wake of RSS leader Swami Aseemanand’s confession about the involvement of Sangh activists in the attack.

India’s acting Deputy High Commissioner GV Srinivas was called to the 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 a reference to Aseemanand’s confession to a Delhi court, a statement issued by the Foreign Office said the Indian diplomat’s “attention was drawn to the recent reports on the investigations into the Samjhauta blast of February 2007”.

“It was reiterated to him that Pakistan was awaiting the progress in the probe. It was also underlined to Mr Srinivas that a response from India may be conveyed at the earliest,” the statement said. Aseemanand recen-tly confessed to the involvement of Sangh activists in terrorist attacks, including the bombing of the Samjhauta Express that killed as many as 68 persons, including 42 Pakistanis.

Sources in the Pakistan government said the Foreign Office was 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 said.

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. — PTI