Delhi protests as Pakistan turns ‘accident’ into ‘terror attack’ to blame it on spy agencies of India, Afghanistan

'Such desperate attempts by Pakistan at peddling lies and propaganda will therefore find few takers,' the MEA spokesperson said

A day after Islamabad blamed intelligence agencies of India and Afghanistan for the death of nine citizens of China in what it earlier called an accident in northern Pakistan, New Delhi dismissed the allegation as yet another lie peddled by Imran Khan’s government in the neighbouring country.

Khan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday alleged that the Research and Analytical Wing (RAW) of India and the National Directorate of Security (NDS) of Afghanistan had colluded to carry out the July 14 explosion that killed 13 people, who were working on a hydropower project China was building at Dasu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. He alleged that the RAW and NDS had carried out the explosion as India and Afghanistan were opposed to China-Pakistan economic cooperation and China’s role in building infrastructures in Pakistan.

The explosion took place on a bus and the deceased included nine Chinese and four Pakistani citizens. Qureshi had earlier told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting in Dushanbe that the preliminary investigation had showed that it was an accident and not a terrorist attack, according to a statement released by the government of the communist country on July 15.

New Delhi strongly reacted to Pakistan Foreign Minister’s allegations. “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, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday.

Also Read | Pak blames India, Afghanistan for July 14 terror attack on bus carrying Chinese engineers

Qureshi’s allegation against the RAW and the NDS in an explosion killing citizens of China in Pakistan came amid the continued military stand-off between Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in eastern Ladakh and Islamabad’s pursuit of a strategic edge against India in Afghanistan after the resurgence of the Taliban.

President Ashraf Ghani’s government in Kabul accused Pakistan of providing support to the Taliban as its militants over the past few weeks continued its military advances occupying vast territories across Afghanistan.

“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,” the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi. “Such desperate attempts by Pakistan at peddling lies and propaganda will therefore find few takers.”

The Dasu Hydroelectric Project is part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which links China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the port city of Gwadar in southern Pakistan. New Delhi has been opposing the CPEC, because it passes through Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) areas, which India claims to be part of its own territory and accuses Pakistan of illegally occupying.