US condemns bombings on Samjhauta Express

Washington, Feb 21: The Bush Administration has condemned the bombings on Samjhauta Express and said it would work with India and Pakistan in fighting terror.

''The United States extends its condolences to the families of the victims and to the people of India and Pakistan. We will continue to support and work with both India and Pakistan in their efforts to halt extremists and counter terrorist threats,'' State Department said in a statement.

''There is no political justification for violence against innocent people, which only serves terrorists' efforts to spread fear, generate hate and limit freedoms,'' the statement added.

White House spokesman Tony Snow, in reply to a question during his routine daily briefing yesterday, drew attention to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's statements and said they had not only expressed ''outrage'' at the train bombing but also promised to go ahead with their peace process.

''We certainly express our condolences, and we despise acts of terror, period,'' Snow remarked.

Former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans Joseph Crowley said, ''This brutal incident is an affront to both India and Pakistan and the perpetrators should not get any satisfaction of achieving their goal of further dividing both nations.'' ''Indian and Pakistani authorities should work closely together to apprehend these murderers and bring them to justice immediately,'' the Democratic Congressman said in a statement, condemning the attack on on the Delhi-Attari Samjhauta Express that has left at least 68 people from both India and Pakistan dead.

He said, ''There can be no justification for the horrific attack on the Friendship train that killed dozens of Indians and Pakistanis, left families from both nations scarred forever and hundreds terribly wounded.''

UNI