Having received flak about the plight of the injured passengers airlifted, the government said the delay was due to nothing more than a "technical" snag.
NEW DELHI: Having received flak in the press about the plight of the grievously injured passengers airlifted by a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft, the government on Friday said the delay was due to nothing more than a "technical" snag.
In a statement, foreign office spokesman Navtej Sarna said that one of the engines developed a snag and had to be repaired by the ground staff of the airport. The plane which landed at 1505 hours finally took off at 2115 hours.
Sarna said that speculation in the media that the delay took place because the aircraft was waiting for Rana Shoukat Ali, his wife Rukhsana and their child were wrong. Rana Shoukat Ali who had lost five other children in the blasts, had expressed a desire to go to Panipat to identify the bodies of his children.
The Pakistan High Commission was informed that these three persons would not be going to Pakistan in the special aircraft.
Rana Shoukat Ali and his family were taken to Panipat where they were able to identify all the five bodies of their children. He and his family will return to Pakistan via Wagah. He denied that the delay was linked to India wanting an "undertaking" from Pakistan for access to the evacuated passengers for interrogation.
This request had been made to Pakistani authorities while conveying the clearance for the aircraft. He said India that Pakistan had been told that as the terrorist attack is being investigated by Indian police, the eye witness accounts may be important. Indian police may wish to take their statements at a later date.
"However, the release of the injured passengers was not linked to this nor their evacuation delayed because of it," Sarna said.
He added that India hopes Pakistan will facilitate the investigations. He made the point that 528 passengers of the train had left for Pakistan on the day of the blast. What he meant was India could have stopped them for interrogation if New Delhi wanted to harass them.
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