New Delhi: India on Friday trashed Pakistan’s allegations of backing terrorism against that country following the Balochistan train attack and said Islamabad should look inwards before shifting the blame on others for its “failures”.
India also said the whole world knows “where the epicentre of global terrorism lies”.
On Thursday, Pakistan accused India of “sponsoring terrorism” without directly implicating it in the Balochistan train attack that killed 21 passengers.
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 own 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.”
