India has strongly responded to allegations by Pakistan that India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) was involved in a recent bombing in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which nine Chinese nationals were killed.
Speaking at a press conference, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi rejected the comments and argued that Pakistan was maligning India to deflect attention from its own role in promoting terrorism, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
"We have seen reports on the absurd comments made by the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on the incident in Dasu. 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."Arindam Bagchi | Spokesperson, MEA
As many as 13 people were killed and several injured in a blast on a bus travelling through northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, 14 July.
The explosion resulted in the death of at least nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers, who were reportedly present on the bus, according to AFP.
The bus was on its way to a construction project at a dam in Dasu. Initial statements from local authorities and a revised statement from the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs acknowledged the possibility that the blast may have been an accident involving a gas cylinder or construction-related explosives.
Following an investigation, Pakistan asserted that the incident was a suicide attack by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, 12 August, however, Pakistan's gaffe-prone foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed that a "nexus" between India's R&AW and Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security was involved in the attack.
Replying to media queries about these allegations, the MEA at a press conference slammed Pakistan's "lies and propaganda".
"India has been at the forefront of global efforts against terrorism in partnership with the international community, which is well aware of Pakistan's credentials when it comes to terrorism. Such desperate attempts by Pakistan at peddling lies and propaganda will, therefore, find few takers."MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, as reported by PTI
(With inputs from PTI and Reuters.)
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