Amid high tension with India, Pakistan suspends services of Samjhauta Express

With tension between India and Pakistan only increasing following the events in the past 48 hours, the Pakistan government has decided to halt all the operations of the Samjhauta Express -- a bi-weekly train which runs between Lahore and Delhi.

The train, which was also called as the 'Friendship express', was supposed to depart from Lahore at 8:30 am on Thursday. But ahead of its scheduled departure, the services of the train have been temporarily stopped.

It's the first time in almost a decade and half that the train has been stopped. In 2002, after the Parliament attack in 2001, the services of the Samjhauta Express was halted, and began only after a period of two years.

Following the Pulwama terror attack earlier this month - orchestrated by Pakistan-backed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed - in which 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives, the frequency of Indian travelers in the train had significantly decreased. 

Relations between the two countries deteriorated in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in February 14, but the set of events which have taken place in the past two days have seen the tensions reach a different level.

In the wee hours of Tuesday, India went inside the Pakistan territory and avenged the Pulwama martyrs by demolishing three hubs of JeM - Balakot, Chakhoti, Muzaffarabad - and neutralizing as many as 245 terrorists.

An operation which lasted for 17 mins, 16 Mirage 2000 jets annihilated the hubs of the JeM using laser-guided bombs to remind the terror outfit and Pakistan - which gives shelter to such organizations - that any kind of terrorism will not be tolerated.

READ: OFFICIAL STATEMENT: India Confirms It Shot Down One Pakistani F-16 Jet Which Unsuccessfully Attempted To Target India’s Military Bases, Says Still Locating One IAF Pilot

A day later, ie on Wednesday, Pakistan resorted to cheap tricks by trying to infiltrate the Indian territory by sending three of its jets inside the Indian airspace. But their efforts were thwarted by the Indian Air Force, which shot down one of the Pakistani F-16 Jet and managed to send back the other two.