The US State Department on Monday recognized Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism as the South Asian nation slammed the US and India for a “one-sided” statement issued after President Joe Biden’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington. Targeted.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the two countries called on Islamabad to take steps to ensure that Pakistani soil is not used to “launch terrorist attacks”.
During his press conference on Monday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US recognizes that Pakistan has taken some important steps to counter terrorist groups after completing the Financial Action Task Force’s action plan. are
“… we are committed to working with Pakistan to counter the common threat posed by terrorist groups across the region,” the spokesperson said.
He highlighted that the people of Pakistan have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks over the years.
Miller said at the same time; However, the United States also insists on the importance of continuing Pakistan’s efforts to permanently eliminate all terrorist groups.
“And we will regularly raise this issue with Pakistani authorities, and continue to work together to address mutual terrorism threats,” the spokesperson added.
Pakistan lodges protest
In response to the strongly worded statement, Pakistan registered a protest on Monday by summoning a US diplomat to the foreign office.
“The US Deputy Chief of Mission was called to the Ministry of External Affairs this evening and was briefed on the US-India joint statement,” the Foreign Office said.
The Foreign Office said “Pakistan’s concern and disappointment over the unnecessary, one-sided and misleading references in the joint statement was conveyed to the US side”.
It added that the US should refrain from issuing statements that could be perceived as encouraging India’s baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan.
The FO Communiqué also emphasized that counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US is progressing well and that an atmosphere of trust and understanding will further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. It is inevitable.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also rejected the US-India joint statement saying that “terrorism entered Pakistan because it acted as an ally of the US in the war against terrorism”.
