India: Pak allegation ‘baseless' regarding train siege; calls Pak, ‘epicentre of terrorism’
India has refuted Pakistan's claims regarding its involvement in the Jaffar Express attack, with MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stating that Pakistan should address its own issues rather than blame others for its failures.
INDIA has strongly denied suggestions made by the Pakistan foreign office that India had a hand in the Jaffar Express attack.
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 inward instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its internal problems and failures on to others."
The whole world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies.
Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan claimed that the rebels involved in the attack on the Jaffar Express were in contact with ring leaders in Afghanistan.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad claiming that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
The statement was issued after Pakistan's security forces announced that they had killed all 33 Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who had hijacked the Jaffar Express, which was carrying over 400 passengers.
However, the Pakistani Army has not provided any photographs or videos to support the claim of a “successful operation.”
In contrast, the BLA has accused the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of covering up their defeat.
Jeeyand Baloch, spokesperson for the BLA, insisted that "the battle is still ongoing across multiple fronts.
"Baloch claimed that the Pakistani army has "neither achieved victory on the battlefield nor managed to save its hostage personnel."
He accused the state of "abandoning its soldiers" and leaving them "to die as hostages."
Released passengers who reached Quetta told Pakistani media that BLA fighters voluntarily freed women, children, and elderly individuals soon after seizing the train.
The BLA has also challenged Pakistani authorities to allow independent journalists and impartial observers into the conflict zone. The group contends the army's reluctance to permit such access demonstrates its “defeat.”
