Page 341 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

one of the two trains to cross the India- Pakistan border. At least 68 people
were killed, mostly Pakistani civilians but also some Indian security
personnel and civilians. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian Army officer and
leader of a shadowy Hindu fundamentalist group, was later identified and

investigated as a key suspect responsible for the bombing. The attack was a
turning point in Indo-Pakistan relations, and one of the many terrorist

incidents that have plagued relations between the two countries.

2008 Mumbai attacks

The 2008 Mumbai attacks by ten Pakistani terrorists killed over 173 and
wounded 308. The sole surviving gunman Ajmal Kasab who was arrested
during the attacks was found to be a Pakistani national. This fact was

acknowledged by Pakistan authorities. In May 2010, an Indian court
convicted him on four counts of murder, waging war against India,
conspiracy and terrorism offences, and sentenced him to death.

India blamed the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, for
planning and executing the attacks. Islamabad resisted the claims and
demanded evidence. India provided evidence in the form of interrogations,

weapons, candy wrappers, Pakistani brand milk packets, and telephone sets.
Indian officials demanded Pakistan extradite suspects for trial. They also said
that, given the sophistication of the attacks, the perpetrators “must have had

the support of some official agencies in Pakistan”.

Shimla Agreement

After the 1971 war, Pakistan and India made slow progress towards the
normalisation of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

and Pakistan’s President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met at the Indian hill station of
Shimla. They signed the Shimla Agreement, by which India would return all
Pakistani personnel (over 90,000) and captured territory in the west, and the
two countries would “settle their differences by peaceful means through

bilateral negotiations”. Diplomatic and trade relations were also re-