By IANS
New Delhi : Except for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, India cancelled train and bus services to Pakistan, for a day Friday following widespread violence in that country following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
According to the home ministry, the Munnabao-Khokrapar and Samjhauta Express (Delhi to Attari) rail services and the Delhi-Lahore bus service have been cancelled.
Senior ministry officials said the government would review the situation in Pakistan on resuming the services.
However, the 170-km long Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service across divided Kashmir has not been cancelled. The service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April, 2005.
“The trains and bus service have been cancelled in view of Pakistan situation, as of now only for today,” said a ministry official.
At least 22 people were killed in nationwide riots following Bhutto’s assassination Thursday evening with angry mobs torching dozens of vehicles and government buildings, ransacking banks and shops and clashing with police.
Most of the riots centred in the southern province of Sindh, Bhutto’s political stronghold.
Both the Amritsar-Lahore bus link and the Khokrapar-Munnabao rail link between India’s Rajasthan and Pakistan’s Sindh province have helped in strengthening the bond of friendship between the neighbours.
Thousands of distraught supporters also took to the streets in Sindh’s provincial capital Karachi, blocked roads with burning tyres and pelted riot police with stones.
Around 100 vehicles were set on fire, according to Pakistan television channels.