Pakistan's military spokesman said on Friday the death toll in a train hijacking in the country's southwestern mountains had risen to 31 and he repeated accusations that neighbouring India and Afghanistan backed the militants who carried it out.

The BLA is one of the largest militant outfits demanding independence for Balochistan. It is designated as a terrorist group by Pakistan as well as the US.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan also claimed that intelligence reports indicated the Baloch terrorists, behind the hijack, were in contact with their associates in Afghanistan