Following Pakistan’s accusation of India "sponsoring terrorism," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a strong rebuttal. In reply to media queries regarding Pakistan's allegations, the official spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, remarked: "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 onto others."

Pakistan’s accusation came on Thursday without directly implicating it in the Balochistan train attack that killed 21 passengers.

At the weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan was questioned several times about the tragic incident that occurred on Tuesday, which led to a hostage situation lasting more than 24 hours.

“Terrorists were in direct communications with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the incident,” Khan stated, noting that Pakistan has consistently urged Afghanistan to prevent terrorist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) from using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan.

“We urge Afghanistan to hold perpetrators, organisers, 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,” he added.

When asked whether there had been a shift in policy, given that India had been previously blamed for BLA activities, but now Afghanistan was being pointed to, the spokesperson confirmed that there was no change in Pakistan’s stance.

“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. This is what I said,” Khan explained.

Responding to further questions, Khan emphasised that India had been working to destabilise neighboring countries and conducting a global assassination campaign.

“In our region, unfortunately, we have many forces against peace who do not want to see Pakistan reap the dividends of its unprecedented and sincere efforts in counter-terrorism and in building a peaceful region,” he remarked.

He also referred to the recent terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express near Sibi, Balochistan, stating: “The latest terrorist attack against Jaffar Express near Sibi Balochistan was also orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from abroad.”

Khan was also asked about India’s alleged involvement in promoting the BLA, to which he replied: “The Indian media is kind of glorifying the BLA which itself reflects the Indian policy, in some ways, if not officially.”

Finally, the spokesperson outlined Pakistan’s comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, which involves military operations, intelligence-based actions, and diplomatic efforts.