The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has lashed out against Pakistan Foreign Office's (FO) statement accusing India of being involved in terrorism in Pakistan. India's reaction came a day after the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson pointed fingers at India while discussing the hijack of Jaffar Express at Balochistan.
MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. 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 to others."
On Thursday, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said during his weekly press briefing: "India has been involved in terrorism in Pakistan. In the particular attack on Jaffar express, the terrorists had been in contact with their handlers and ring leaders in Afghanistan."
This isn't the first instance of Pakistan pointing fingers against India. After the news of hijack broke out, both Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Information Minister Atta Tarar tried to slam Indian media, alleging that they were engaging in "propaganda" and "spreading a coordinated narrative regarding the attack" with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and political enemy PTI.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif told reporters that the "flow of misinformation" online and on social media from India "openly displayed the nexus between the terrorists and their masters to the whole world."
Historically, Pakistan has accused India of fuelling separatist movements in Balochistan. Islamabad has time and again accused the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of being involved in the formation of BLA and other separatist groups like the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) in the 1960s and the Baloch Republican Army(BRA) 2000s.