ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has categorically rejected an “unwarranted reference” in the statement issued after the US-India Ministerial Dialogue called on Islamabad to take “irreversible actions” against terrorism.
“The gratuitous reference in the statement alluding to some non-existent and dismantled entities betrays misplaced counter-terrorism focus of both countries,” said the Foreign Office in a statement.
The Foreign Office said it was unfortunate that a bilateral cooperation mechanism was being used to target a third country for political expediency and to mislead public opinion away from real and emerging terrorism threats. “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.
It added that 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”.
‘Irreversible action’ against terrorism
The United States and India strongly condemned the use of terrorist proxies and cross-border terrorism while calling upon Pakistan to take “irreversible action” to ensure that its soil is not used for terrorist attacks against any other country.
The exhortation came in a statement released by them at the end of the “Fourth Annual US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue” which was preceded by an hour-long virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.
The dialogue was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin from the United States and Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar from India.
“The ministers strongly condemned any use of terrorist proxies and cross-border terrorism in all its forms and called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and Pathankot attack, to be brought to justice,” reads the joint statement.
The two sides called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
“The ministers called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks,” reads the joint statement.
The ministers committed to continued exchange of information about sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, countering violent radicalism, use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, and cross-border movement of terrorists.
