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by IANS |
New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) India has rejected Pakistan's allegations that New Delhi is behind the ethnic violence raging in the neighbouring country, saying it should look inwards instead of shifting blame for its own problems and the world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies.
In response to media queries on the remarks made by the Pakistan side, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that India strongly rejects the allegations as baseless.
"We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. The whole world knows where the epicenter 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," said MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a statement.
India has snubbed Pakistan after it hinted at India's role in fomenting trouble in the restive Balochistan region.
The government's response came after a senior Pakistani official accused India of "sponsoring terrorism" and trying to destabilise its neighbouring countries.
The accusation came after the hijacking of the Jaffar Express by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) during its journey from Quetta to Peshawar. The siege lasted about 30 hours, and 21 hostages and four security personnel were killed.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the train attack was orchestrated from abroad, but did not directly implicate India. He said the rebels were in contact with their handlers based in Afghanistan throughout the train siege.
When asked if Pakistan had changed its policy from blaming India in the past for BLA activity, he said its accusations against India hold even today. "There is no shift in our policy. And again, the facts have not changed...India is involved in sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan. What I was referring to was, in this particular incident, we have evidence of calls being traced to Afghanistan," said the Pakistani official addressing media.
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