India Hits Back: Epicentre of Global Terrorism

India has rejected Pakistan’s allegations that New Delhi is “sponsoring terrorism” in the neighbouring country, saying it should look inwards instead of “shifting blame” for its own problems. The strongly worded statement from the Ministry of External Affairs also said the whole world knows “where the epicentre of global terrorism lies”.

“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,” the MEA said.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal’s statement comes a day after Pakistan said India was “sponsoring terrorism” without directly implicating it in the Balochistan train attack which led to 25 deaths.

On March 11, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the Jaffar Express from Quetta to Peshawar with about 440 people on board. The subsequent 30-hour siege saw the deaths of 21 hostages and four security personnel.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan Thursday 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.

Pakistan has often accused BLA—which it deemed a terrorist organization in 2006—of acting as an Indian proxy, despite denials from both the BLA and India.

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,” the Pakistani official told the media. 

Responding to another question, he also implied that India has been trying to destabilize its neighbours, adding, “The latest terrorist attack against Jaffar Express near Sibi Balochistan was also orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from abroad.”

Operating primarily from safe havens scattered across southern Afghanistan, BLA perpetrates attacks against non-Baloch minorities in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, with the goal of removing the region from Pakistani sovereignty.