Train family in India cash row

By Jyotsna Singh
BBC News, Delhi

Rana Shaukat Ali, his wife and surviving daughter

The couple have fought for months

A Pakistani couple awarded compensation by India for the loss of five children in a bomb attack on a cross-border train say they cannot cash the cheque.

The couple welcome the money but Indian currency is not valid in Pakistan and they have no Indian bank account.

The children of Rana Shaukat Ali and his wife were on the "Friendship Express" from Delhi to Lahore when it was attacked in February 2007.

At least 65 people were killed in the two blasts and the fire which followed.

Mr Ali and his wife have spent most of the time since the attack fighting a legal battle for compensation with the Indian railway authorities.

Police stand guard at the scene of the charred train

Fire engulfed two carriages on the Samjhauta (Friendship) Express

They were recently issued with a cheque - but have now discovered that it cannot be cashed in Pakistan. On Tuesday they visited the Indian railways minister in Delhi to plead their case.

"All we want the Indian authorities to do is help us get our money... either by helping us open an account here or by arranging for the money to be paid to us in Pakistan through the Indian embassy," Mr Ali told the BBC.

"We are running out of time because our visa runs out on 26 November."

The couple have no complaints about the amount they have been paid - the standard Indian railways compensation of 400,000 rupees ($8,300) for each of the five boys they lost in the blasts.

Human suffering

It is thought that other Pakistani families who lost loved ones on the train have received compensation - either from the Indian or Pakistani governments.

So far there has been no comment from the railways ministry over the couple's plight. But given the frosty relationship between India and Pakistan, a speedy resolution to the problem is unlikely.

The couple's story is in many respects a typical example of the human suffering on both sides of the India-Pakistan divide over the years, a story made more difficult because of the extreme caution the countries exercise in relation to cross-border issues.

Pakistani citizens are not allowed to open a bank account in India - although a proposal to let them to do so was part of a comprehensive dialogue put on hold after the Mumbai bombings a year ago.

India blamed those attacks - which killed more than 170 people - on Pakistani-based militants.

There is no indication the talks will resume soon.