New Delhi/Islamabad, August 9: A day after suspending services of Samjhauta Express, Pakistan said it is halting Thar Express train service as well. Pakistan's Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Friday announced that Thar Express train services will be stopped. The Thar Express runs between Jodhpur and Karachi. The decision comes days after India scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.

On Thursday, Rasheed Ahmad announced that the Pakistan government was permanently discontinuing the Samjhauta Express train service with India. He said that the bogies of the Samjhauta Express will now be used for passengers travelling on the occasion of Eid. The Samjhauta Express ran twice a week from Lahore to Attari via the Wagah railway station. Pakistan Suspends Samjhauta Express Services After Article 370 Abrogation From Jammu and Kashmir, But Says Work on Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Will Continue.

Following the announcement, Pakistan had stopped the Samjhauta Express at the Wagah border, citing security concerns, following which an Indian crew and guard escorted the train to Attari on the Indian side. On July 22, 1976, the Samjhauta Express train service was started under the Simla Agreement that settled the 1971 war between the two nations. The train runs from Delhi to Attari on the Indian side and from Lahore to Wagah on the Pakistan side. MEA Responds to Pakistan's 'Downgrading' of Bilateral Ties With India Over Article 370 Row, Says Move 'Not Surprising'.

Pakistan on Wednesday announced its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with India over New Delhi's move of revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcating the state. Pakistan also expelled the Indian High Commissioner and suspended bilateral trade with New Delhi.

India's President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday signed an order ending the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, a day after Parliament passed the resolution, along with a bill to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without a legislature.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2019 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).