Pakistan accuses India of "sponsoring terrorism" in Khuzdar

In a joint press conference held on May 23, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Interior Secretary Capt (retd) Khurram Agha strongly condemned the recent wave of terrorist attacks in Balochistan, directly accusing India of sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan for over two decades.

Addressing the media, Lt Gen Chaudhry stated that India has been following a consistent policy of state-sponsored terrorism aimed at destabilising Pakistan and undermining regional peace, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

“For 20 years, India has been actively funding and facilitating terrorist activities inside Pakistan,” he said.

He recalled that Pakistan had submitted a detailed dossier in 2009 highlighting India’s alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. A similar dossier was presented again in 2016, which, according to him, included evidence of Indian support to banned outfits and terror networks operating within Pakistan.

The ISPR DG listed a number of recent terrorist incidents across Balochistan, which he claimed were linked to an India-backed terror group identified as Fitna-ul-Hindustan. He alleged that this group was behind the recent attack in Khuzdar, which led to the deaths of school children.

“This was not just an attack on children but an attack on our values,” added Interior Secretary Agha.

“Eight people, including six children, have been killed, and 51 people injured in the Khuzdar attack. Many are still undergoing treatment in hospitals,” said the military spokesperson.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said that several terrorists arrested by Pakistani security forces had confessed to receiving financial and logistical support from India. He also referenced the confessional statement of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav as what he described as undeniable proof of Indian interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs.

He further revealed that the arrested terrorists were equipped with American-made weapons and night vision devices, often smuggled into Pakistan via Afghanistan.

The Pakistani security forces, he said, have intensified efforts to counter terrorism and its financing by shutting down illegal funding channels.

“There was an agenda to provide operational space to military proxy groups, but they are now under increasing pressure and frustration,” the spokesperson concluded.

By Sabina Mammadli