ISLAMABAD, July 14: The Foreign Office on Friday challenged Indian charges of a ‘Pakistani hand’ in the deadly Mumbai bombings and underscored the need for the two countries to carry forward the peace process as it was not just in their interest but also the entire region.

“These allegations are altogether unsubstantiated and we have already rejected them,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam categorically stated on Friday.

She said if New Delhi had any evidence that the Mumbai blasts were backed by elements in Pakistan, it should come forward and share it with Islamabad.

Responding to a question, Ms Aslam said Islamabad had not yet received any official communication, written or verbal, from New Delhi in this regard.

She said the accusation of involvement of Pakistani intelligence agencies was baseless.

“The Mumbai blasts were a barbaric act of terrorism, which Pakistan strongly and unequivocally condemned, including at the highest level of the president and the prime minister,” she said. “The president yesterday reaffirmed the offer to help India with the investigations, if required, on the basis of specific information,” she added.

The FO spokesperson said terrorism was a phenomenon in almost every country and had affected all countries of South Asia. In this context, she referred to the suicide bomb attack in Karachi on Friday that killed a leading religious scholar.

She asserted that the peace process between Pakistan and India had nothing to do with the bomb blasts in Mumbai.