As India-US jointly called out Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism, Pakistan cried foul after it was called out to ensure its territory was not used as a base for militant attacks.
In an official statement, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, “A joint US-Indian statement was unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading. The reference to Islamabad in it was contrary to diplomatic norms.”
It said that the ministry was surprised by the joint statement and the country had close counterterrorism cooperation with the United States.
“They (Biden and Modi) strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the joint statement read.
Reacting to the statement, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that India was using the allegations of extremism against Islamabad to deflect the situation in Kashmir and the treatment of minorities in India.
“In addition to being a state-sponsor of terrorism, India habitually uses terrorism bogey to deflect attention from its brutal repression of Kashmiri people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and maltreatment of its minorities. It is thus completely ill-placed to cast any aspersions on Pakistan and its fight against terrorism,” Pakistan said.
“Ironically, the Joint Statement fails to address the key sources of tension and instability in the region and to take cognizance of the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). This is tantamount to abdication of international responsibility,” it added.
Islamabad has also a problem with defence co-operation between India and US. “Pakistan is also deeply concerned over the planned transfer of advanced military technologies to India. Such steps are accentuating military imbalance in the region and undermining strategic stability. They remain unhelpful in achieving the objective of a durable peace in South Asia,” it said.
Earlier, India has accused Pakistan of launching militant attacks in the country for years including the one in 2008 in Mumbai that killed over 165 people.
India also says Pakistan has helped Islamist militants who have battled Indian security forces in its part of Kashmir since the late 1980s. Pakistan denies the accusation and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination.
The special status given to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked in 2019 when New Delhi split it into two federally controlled territories. Pakistan calls the moves illegal and wants them rolled back.
Biden rolled out the red carpet for Modi on Thursday, with both leaders touting deals their countries reached on defense and commerce aimed at countering China’s global influence, Reuters reported.
Pakistan also said it was “deeply concerned” over the planned transfer of advanced military technologies to India, saying such steps would not prove helpful in achieving peace in South Asia.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been fraught for years. Since independence from Britain in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
