Pakistan rejects ‘unwarranted’ reference in Indo-US talks

FO says unfortunate that bilateral cooperation mechanism was being used to target third country

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Wednesday categorically rejected what it called an “unwarranted reference” in the statement issued after the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue where they asked Islamabad to take "irreversible actions" against terror outfits.

“The gratuitous reference in the statement alluding to some non-existent and dismantled entities betrays misplaced counter-terrorism focus of both [the] countries,” according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

The joint statement issued at the end of the ministerial dialogue session in Washington DC. India’s external affairs and defence ministers, S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh, held meetings with their US counterparts, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In the statement, US and India called on Pakistan to take "immediate, sustained, and irreversible action" to ensure that no territory under its control was used for terrorist attacks.

The PTI supporters were giving the impression that the Indo-US joint statement against Pakistan was issued because the new government in Islamabad was "subservient" to the West. However, such statements have been issued in the past too.

The Foreign Office said rejected the statement and called it a "betrayal to the counter-terrorism focus of both countries".

"It is unfortunate that a bilateral cooperation mechanism is being used to target a third country for political expediency and to mislead public opinion away from the real and emerging terrorism threats. The assertions made against Pakistan in the statement are malicious and lack any credibility."

Read US, India call on Pakistan to take ‘irreversible action’ against terrorism

"The assertions made against Pakistan in the statement are malicious and lack any credibility," it added.

It noted that Pakistan had remained a major, proactive, reliable and willing partner of the international community in the global fight against terrorism over the last two decades.

“Pakistan’s successes and sacrifices in countering terrorism are unparalleled and widely acknowledged by the international community, including the United States. No country in the region has sacrificed more for peace than Pakistan,” the statement said.

The Foreign Office said India’s insinuations against Pakistan were in fact a “desperate attempt” to conceal its state-terrorism and brutal atrocities against the subjugated Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“Responsible members of the international community must condemn India’s use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy and the impunity that continues to be associated with it,” the FO stated.

According to the office, India’s terrorism network using the soil of other countries and supporting UN-designated terrorist organisations is on record, and failing to take cognizance of this serious situation is tantamount to abdication of international responsibility.

“We expect and urge the partner countries to take an objective view of the issues of peace and security in South Asia and refrain from associating themselves with positions that are one-sided, politically motivated, and divorced from ground realities,” the statement maintained.

“Our concerns and rejection of the unwarranted reference to Pakistan in the US-India Statement have been conveyed to the US side through diplomatic channels”.