India has rejected Pakistan’s allegations that New Delhi was behind the ethnic violence raging in the neighbouring country where the latest in a series of bloodshed was a train hijacking by the Baloch rebels. In strong remarks, it has snubbed Pakistan after it hinted at India’s role in fomenting trouble in the restive Balochistan region.

Pakistan must look inwards instead of blaming others, the Indian government has said, echoing its previous stance that Islamabad harboured a terror hotbed.

“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,” read a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The government’s response came after a senior Pakistani official accused India of “sponsoring terrorism”. Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the train attack was orchestrated from abroad, but did not directly implicate India.

The accusation followed the hijacking of the Jaffar Express by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) when the train was on a 30-hour journey from Quetta to Peshawar. The siege lasted about 30 hours, and 21 hostages and four security personnel were killed.

Mr Khan said the rebels were in contact with their handlers based in Afghanistan throughout the train siege. When asked if Pakistan had changed its policy from blaming India in the past for BLA activity, the spokesperson denied and 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. This is what I said,” said the Pakistani official addressing reporters.