- Friday, March 14, 2025
Pakistan accused India of “sponsoring terrorism” without directly implicating it in the Balochistan train attack that killed 21 passengers and led to a hostage situation
By: India Weekly
INDIA has trashed Pakistan’s allegations of abetting terrorism against that country following the Balochistan train attack and said Islamabad should look inwards before blaming others for their own “failures”.
India observed that the whole world knows that Pakistan is the “epicentre of global terrorism“.
On Thursday, Pakistan accused India of “sponsoring terrorism” without directly implicating it in the Balochistan train attack that killed 21 passengers.
“We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, responding to media queries on Islamabad’s allegations on Friday (14).
He also said, “The whole world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies.”
“Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its own internal problems and failures on others,” he added.
Pakistan’s charge
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, at a weekly press briefing, was asked several questions about the deadly attack on Tuesday (11), which led to a hostage situation lasting for more than 24 hours.
He said the terrorists were in direct communications with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the incident, and added that Islamabad has repeatedly asked Afghanistan to deny the use of its soil for terrorist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) for their attacks against Pakistan.
“We urge Afghanistan to hold the perpetrators, organisers and financiers, of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and cooperate with the government of Pakistan to bring all those who are concerned with this attack, including the real sponsors of terrorism, to justice,” Khan had said.
When asked about any change of policy because India was blamed in the past for any activity by the BLA, while this time the finger was pointed towards Afghanistan, the spokesman said there was no change in the policy.
“There is no shift in our policy. And again, the facts have not changed. India is involved in sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan,” the spokesperson alleged without providing any evidence.
To another question, he claimed that India has been trying to destabilise its neighbouring countries and running a global assassination campaign.
The Pakistan spokesperson also accused the Indian media of “glorifying the BLA which itself reflects the Indian policy, in some ways, if not officially”.
Baloch problem
Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, and lags behind the rest of the country in education, employment and economic development.
Baloch separatists have in recent years intensified attacks on Pakistanis from neighbouring provinces working in the region, as well as foreign energy firms they believe are exploiting its riches.
Punjabis are the largest of the six main ethnic groups in Pakistan, and are perceived as dominating the ranks of the military, which is locked in a battle to quash Balochistan’s armed factions. (Agencies)
