Indian minister accuses Pakistan of backing terrorism

A top Indian minister has hit out at Pakistan, saying it is backing acts of terrorism against India in a bid to destabilise the country.

Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh, the second-most-powerful official in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told a security conference in India's northeast that Pakistan was still supporting militants fighting New Delhi's rule in Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Singh pointed to a guerilla attack last week on an army patrol in Indian-administered Kashmir in which at least 10 people were killed.

"It is unfortunate Pakistan does not mend its ways," Singh said, singling out Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence as one of the "state actors" seeking to roil India's security.

"I do not hesitate in saying Pakistani state actors have a role in destabilising India," Singh said, repeating a long-standing Indian demand that Pakistan rein in Islamic militants.

There was no immediate reaction to Singh's remarks from Pakistan.

His remarks come on the heels of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit held last week in Nepal that was overshadowed by India's and Pakistan's rivalry and ended with little progress towards regional integration.