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Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed as "baseless and preposterous" Indian assertions to link Pakistan to the boat which exploded in the Arabian Sea in early hours of January 1.
Indian media had quoted the nation's defense minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday as saying in New Delhi that "circumstantial evidence" indicated that the occupants of the vessel were " suspected or possible terrorists" and that they were in touch with Pakistani maritime officials and the army.
The India External Affairs Ministry also leveled similar allegations.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry angrily reacted to the Indian allegations in a statement and rejected a series of charges in the wake of escalations along the border.
"The baseless and preposterous Indian allegations regarding the so called 'terror boat' from Pakistan are also in the same vein," a Foreign Ministry statement said.
"On the other hand, the people of Pakistan see the escalation of tension by India on the Line of Control and Working Boundary, through continuous unprovoked firing and targeting of civilians, as an attempt to distract our armed forces from its valiant mission against all terrorists," it said.
Pakistan also rejected "equally baseless and malicious" the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson's allegations regarding the " citings" of Punjabi/Urdu speaking terrorist elements in Afghanistan.
"India is reminded to refrain from attempts to create misunderstanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the two brotherly nations bound by common destiny, shared culture, history and religion," the statement said and describing these efforts as violation of all international norms.
The Indian opposition Congress had questioned the defense ministry's version of sinking of Pakistani "terror" boat and asked the government to "come clean" and explain "which terrorist organization" was behind the episode.
Indian media reported that the boat was used by smugglers and it had no terror links. Enditem
