Pakistani driver stops train to buy yoghurt, video goes viral

A train driver has been suspended after he reportedly halted the train to buy yoghurt. The incident is said to have taken place in Pakistan and a video of the driver’s assistant picking up the snack from a street kiosk before jumping back inside the carriage has gone viral on social media.

According to AFP, the halt was unplanned, raising concerns about railway safety in Pakistan.

Before the train glides away, a man can be seen getting inside the engine, holding what appears to be a packet of yoghurt. “Look at this railway driver,” says a voice in the video. He’s got off the train to get some yoghurt.” The Pakistani government reacted quickly.

“When you stop a train in the middle (of the tracks) it becomes a safety issue. Safety is our priority. We cannot tolerate anything which compromises safety,” Syed Ijaz-ul-Hassan Shah, a spokesman for the railway ministry, told AFP.

The passenger service had begun its voyage in Lahore, Pakistan’s eastern city, and was heading south to Karachi. Azam Khan Swati, the country’s railroads minister, issued a statement warning that he will not “allow anyone to utilise national assets for personal gain.” Such instances are not uncommon in Pakistan, according to a railway official, and control is frequently absent.

While the minister took the matter seriously, netizens thought the episode to be very hilarious. There are a lot of ‘laughing’ emojis in the comments section underneath the video.

More than 60 people were murdered earlier this year in Pakistan when a train racing through fields collided with the carriages of another train that had derailed minutes before. According to the Associated Press, Sir Syed Express driver Aijaz Ahmed told the station that when he saw the derailed train, he tried his utmost to prevent the collision by slowing but failed. Ahmed was mildly hurt, according to railway officials, and villagers removed him from the train’s engine after the incident.