ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office on Tuesday rejected the "unwarranted" references given to Pakistan in a US-India joint statement on counterterrorism, saying it has also conveyed its "serious concerns" and rejections to the United States.
"Pakistan strongly rejects the unwarranted references to Pakistan in the Joint Statement of U.S-India Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue," Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said, while responding to the joint statement on the 17th meeting of US-India Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue held virtually on September 9-10.
In the joint statement, "the two sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot."
Chaudhry emphasised that it was important that partner countries took an objective view of the issues of peace and security in South Asia, and refrained from endorsing positions that were one-sided and divorced from ground realities.
"Our serious concerns and rejection of the unacceptable reference to Pakistan in the afore-mentioned Joint Statement have been conveyed to the US side," he said, adding that the international community was well-aware that Pakistan was a country most affected by cross-border terrorism, sponsored and supported by India.
He added that the international community also recognised Pakistan's efforts, sacrifices and successes in the fight against terrorism. The spokesperson asserted that Pakistan had repeatedly underlined that peace and stability in South Asia was threatened by the irresponsible policies and actions of the RSS-BJP regime in India - including towards its minorities, its state-terrorism in the IIOJK, and its belligerence against Pakistan and other countries in the region.
"The international community must urge India to reverse course and desist from playing a role detrimental to regional peace and stability," he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020