India on Friday rejected the Pakistan foreign minister’s claim that the Indian and Afghan spy agencies were behind a suicide attack on a bus last month that killed nine Chinese nationals, saying it was an attempt to deflect global attention from Pakistan’s “role as the epicentre of regional instability”.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi contended on Thursday that the bombing was carried out by terrorists backed by the Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies. He claimed a probe revealed a “nexus of Indian RAW and Afghan NDS” in the attack, referring to the intelligence agencies of the two countries.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi rubbished Qureshi’s allegations and described them as “absurd comments”. “This is yet another attempt by Pakistan to malign India, in a bid to deflect international attention from its role as the epicentre of regional instability and a safe haven for proscribed terrorists,” he added.