Daily Times

A spokesman for the Pakistan Railways (PR) said Monday that the Zakaria Express incident was reported by the victim at the request of the railway administration.

The spokesman said that even after landing at Karachi station, the aggrieved did not seek help from the police desk. A day later, when the incident was reported in a local newspaper, the Karachi Divisional Superintendent sent the DCO along with the Ladies Police to the victim’s house where the railway administration persuaded the woman to register an FIR. Meanwhile, the railway police kept conducting raids at various places to search for the named accused and finally arrested all allegedly involved. The arrests were made from Samundari, Jahanian and Shorkot. The railway administration has sent a show cause notice to the private sector contractor operating Zakaria Express. In addition, all private sector employees on the trains will be re-checked by the security agencies.

Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Railways Farrukh Taimur Ghilzai has said that no compromise will be made regarding the safety of passengers. Railways is the safest means of travel in Pakistan and we will not allow its reputation to be tarnished, he added. Ghilzai said that instructions have been issued to the contractors to prevent such incidents in future. According to the spokesman, Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique kept taking a moment-to-moment report from the CEO on the progress of the incident.