India continues to aid, abet terrorism in Pakistan: FO

-- Pakistan slams India over Samjhauta trial, accuses New Delhi of aiding terror groups

-- FO alleges India's support for militant groups targeting Pakistan

-- Acquittals in Samjhauta case draw strong protest from Islamabad

-- Call for fair trial as Pakistan cites ‘Hindutva extremism’ and Indian state complicity

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday expressed severe disappointment over what it termed India’s “callousness” towards the families of Pakistani and Indian nationals still awaiting justice nearly nineteen years after the Samjhauta Express bombing.

At his weekly media briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said India’s response reflected indifference to the plight of victims’ families and raised serious questions about accountability in the case.

He said the acquittal and exoneration of all four accused—including Swami Aseemanand, who had publicly confessed to masterminding the attack, Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur—was “shameless” and deeply troubling.

The spokesperson said the developments confirmed India’s role as an “official and political accomplice” in the heinous attack carried out on its soil against innocent Pakistani and other civilians. He added that the systemic exoneration of the accused was yet another example of what Pakistan views as Indian duplicity and state sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan.

Andrabi also expressed alarm over what he described as the growing influence of Hindutva extremism and “saffron terror” under the current Indian government, saying such ideologies had motivated the Samjhauta attack nearly two decades ago and had since intensified.

Reiterating Pakistan’s demand for justice, he called for a fair trial to ensure that all perpetrators and abettors of the Samjhauta Express attack are brought to justice. He stressed that the families of innocent Pakistani nationals killed in the incident deserved closure and accountability.

Responding to another question regarding a recent statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs about alleged Pakistani strikes against terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan, the spokesperson categorically rejected the claims.

He said the Indian statement vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding position that India continues to aid and abet terrorism in Pakistan through its alleged support for groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army and Fitna-al-Hindustan, among other militant outfits in the region.

Andrabi asserted that Pakistan possesses concrete evidence of India’s involvement in sponsoring and facilitating terrorism. He added that statements issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs following recent attacks in Balochistan further reinforced what he described as “circumstantial evidence” of India’s complicity in promoting instability in Pakistan.