ISLAMABAD: India and the US have asked Pakistan to take “immediate, sustained, and irreversible action” to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks before calling for the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice.
The demand for action by Pakistan was made through a joint statement issued after 2+2 Ministerial attended by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
This came a day after Shehbaz Sharif replaced Imran Khan as the prime minister.
According to The Indian Express, the 2+2 dialogue is a format of talks between the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues. India holds dialogues on this format with four of its strategic partners — the US, Russia, Australia, and Japan.
“The Ministers called on Pakistan to take an immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks,” said the statement.
It noted that the Ministers committed to the 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.
India further highlighted the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by all countries, consistent with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.
“The ministers also reaffirmed their support for the early adoption of a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) that advances and strengthens the framework for global cooperation and reinforces that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism,” the statement added.
FO rejects ‘unwarranted reference’ to Pakistan:
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has categorically rejected the “unwarranted reference” to Pakistan in the joint statement issued by India and US.
According to Radio Pakistan, the FO 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.”
The Foreign Office said Pakistan had remained a major, proactive, reliable and willing partner of the international community in the global fight against terrorism over 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,” it stated.
The FO expressed that India’s insinuations against Pakistan were a desperate attempt to conceal its state-terrorism and brutal atrocities against the subjugated Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“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,” it urged, adding that India’s terrorism network using the soil of other countries through supporting UN-designated terrorist organisations, was on record.
“Failing to take cognizance of this serious situation is tantamount to abdication of international responsibility,” the FO highlighted.
The FO added that its concerns regarding the statement had been conveyed to the US side through diplomatic channels.
