Pakistan suspends Samjhauta Express amid tensions with India

Pakistan has suspended cross-border services of Samjhauta Express amid rising tensions with India, according to a report by Geo News.

The train connecting Lahore in Pakistan and Atari and Delhi in India was scheduled to depart on February 28 at 8 am.

Additional General Manager Pakistan Railways said the decision to suspend the train service was taken to avert any untoward incident in light of heightened security concerns, as per the report.

This comes a day after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India has no plans to suspend the service. "We have not yet received any instructions from authorities so far as running of Samjhauta Express is concerned. It will run as planned as per the schedule," he said.

Tensions between the two countries have been rising following the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRFP jawans were killed. Terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed responsibility for the attack, following which India retaliated with an airstrike on its training camp in Balakot on February 26.

Later developments include an aerial confrontation between India and Pakistan in which one Pakistani F-16 jet and an IAF MiG-21 Bison were shot down. The Pakistan Army said it has arrested an Indian pilot which it identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

Even though video footage of the pilot 'being treated well' has been making rounds on social media, India has been trying to put pressure on Pakistan to safely release Varthaman.