Is it true that Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways have unsettled accounts going back many decades?
Both IR and PR claim they are owed money from unsettled accounts with each other, some of which date back to the time of Partition. Each side has a list of such amounts due, which are generally fairly small (to the tune of a few lakhs of rupees, Rs 6 lakhs, Rs 12 lakhs, etc.), claimed under various heads such as passenger or freight traffic operations, hire charges for coaches or wagons, etc., for cross-border traffic between 1947 and 1965, and also a few smaller items dating back to the time of Partition which saw large-scale movement and redistribution of assets and staff. These matters are diligently recorded in the account books and brought up in each semi-annual and annual meeting between the two countries, but never taken up for discussion because of more pressing issues. A tit-for-tat situation has ensued, with even more recent account settlements (e.g., a substantial Rs 16 crore settlement for wagon hire and penalty charges for a few years up to March 2008) being held hostage t
