India refuses to hand over unidentified bodies of Samjhauta Express

Islamabad, Feb 24 (UNI) The Indian Government has refused to hand over bodies of the unidentified victims of Samjhauta Express tragedy to Pakistan on the plea that their nationality had not been determined.

''Following the Indian refusal to shift bodies, we have now requested for proper separate burial with DNA identification to keep the possibility of bringing the remains of identified Pakistani nationals,'' foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said in Islamabad.

She said the Indian government would arrange the burial, as it was not possible to keep these bodies for a longer period.

Meanwhile, an official spokesman of Pakistan said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had personally intervened and directed the foreign ministry to supervise the burial and ensure that DNA identifications of Pakistani nationals, if buried in India, were available to the relatives of victims of the tragic incident, Dawn newspaper reported.

Mr Aziz also directed all departments dealing with the issue to extend all possible help to the relatives of the deceased so that they are able to obtain DNA test results of their kin, the spokesman added.

UNI