In this frame grab from a video released by the Baluchistan Liberation Army shows people outside the a train after being attacked by the BLA on its transit from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar, in Bolan district, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, March 12, 2025.
In this frame grab from a video released by the Baluchistan Liberation Army shows people outside the a train after being attacked by the BLA on its transit from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar, in Bolan district, Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, March 12, 2025.
India on Friday rejected the fresh accusation of “sponsoring terrorism” hurled by Pakistan after a bloody train hijack in the restive Balochistan province this week.
Fifty-eight people — 33 militants, 21 passengers and 4 soldiers — were killed in the siege, which lasted longer than a day.
“We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. The whole world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies,” external affairs ministry spokesperson RandhirJaiswal said.
“Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its own internal problems and failures onto others.”
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, had earlier accused India of sponsoring terrorism directed at his country.
At the weekly briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Khan faced a slew of questions on the daring train hijack that has grabbedglobal attention.
Since Islamabad had this time pointed fingers at Afghanistan, Khan was asked whether this marked a shift in policy, given that Pakistan has often blamed India for the actions of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has claimed responsibility for the hijack.
“There is no shift in our policy. And again, the facts have not changed. India is involved in sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan,” Khan alleged. He did not provide any evidence of an Indian hand in the hijack.
Khan said the terrorists had been in direct communication with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the hostage crisis, and underlined that Islamabad had repeatedly asked Afghanistan to refuse shelter to terrorist groups like the BLA.
“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 said.
Pakistan has often accused India of working to keep its mineral-rich province of Balochistan restive. By far Pakistan’s largest province, the sparsely populated Balochistan has witnessed several waves of insurgency by different groups with their own agendas.
Apart from independence or autonomy, the various Baloch insurgent groups also want a greater share and say in the use of the province’s natural resources.
Of late, Pakistan has been training its guns at Afghanistan over the Taliban regime’s failure to rein in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group has for years carried out terror strikes within Pakistani territory while finding safe haven across the Durand Line.
Last December, Pakistan carried out air strikes on alleged terrorists in the Afghan province of Paktika.