Pak rejects 'unwarranted reference' in Joint Statement issued by US, India

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday categorically rejected what it called the "unwarranted reference" in the Joint Statement issued after the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, asking Islamabad to take "immediate, sustained, and irreversible action" to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks.

The Foreign Office termed it unfortunate that a bilateral cooperation mechanism was used to target a third country for political expediency and to mislead public opinion away from the real and emerging terrorism threats.

"The gratuitous reference in the statement alluding to some non-existent and dismantled entities betrays misplaced counter-terrorism focus of both countries, FO said.

"The assertions made against Pakistan in the statement are malicious and lack any credibility, it said, referring to the Indo-US Joint Statement issued on April 11 in Washington.

The FO said that it also conveyed its concerns to the US. "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, it said.

It said that Pakistan remained a major, proactive, reliable and willing partner of the international community in the global fight against terrorism over last two decades and its successes and sacrifices were unparalleled and widely acknowledged by the international community, including the US.