Blaming Pakistan for Gurdaspur attack 'unfortunate', says FO

India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier claimed attackers came from Pakistan, a claim rejected by Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Pakistan rejected on Thursday India's accusation of its involvement in the Gurdaspur attack which left seven people dead.

"It is unfortunate that India is pointing fingers even before the investigation is complete," Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said, during his weekly press briefing in Islamabad.

"Pakistan has condemned the Gurdaspur attack," he added.

Reiterating Pakistan's stance against terrorism, the FO spokesperson said, "Pakistan being a victim of terrorism itself is against all forms of terrorism."

Earlier today, India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament that the gunmen who stormed a police station and killed seven people in India's Punjab came from Pakistan.

In a statement shorn of the nationalist rhetoric the ruling party is known for, Singh warned of a forceful response to any attempt to undermine India's territorial integrity or security but did not specify any response to Monday's attack.

Read: Gurdaspur gun battle: Siege at Indian police station leaves 10 dead

Gunmen dressed in military fatigues killed at least 10 people, including three civilians, in India’s Punjab state on Monday before being shot dead in a 12-hour-long gunfight with security forces in a small-town police station near the border with Pakistan.

In what was the first such attack in the state in more than a decade, the assailants shot dead a roadside vendor and tried to hijack a bus before storming the police station, witnesses said.

Earlier, contradicting speculation that the attack may have been carried out by Sikh separatists, the Indian Punjab police chief claimed on Tuesday that the three gunmen were Muslim but as yet unidentified.

Read: Pakistan condemns terrorist attack in Indian Punjab

Pakistan had earlier issued a statement strongly condemning the assault and extending condolences to the government and people of India, pushing back against insinuations that the assailants had crossed from Pakistani territory.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist incident in Gurdaspur, India, in which a number of precious lives have been lost. There are reports of others having suffered injuries. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families,” said a statement issued here Pakistan’s Foreign Office.