ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday said the Pakistan-specific reference in the ‘joint statement from the United States and India’ was unwarranted, one-sided and misleading.
Responding to media queries regarding the US-India joint statement, the spokesperson said the reference was contrary to diplomatic norms and had political overtones. She said we are surprised that it has been added to the statement despite Pakistan’s close counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S.
She said Pakistan had rendered unmatched sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. In laying down their lives, our law enforcement agencies and armed forces have set an example. People of Pakistan are the real heroes in this fight.
Ms Baloch said the international community had time and again recognized Pakistan’s efforts and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. She said it has long concluded that terrorism can be defeated through concerted and cooperative actions. She said today, we fail to see how the assertions made in the Joint Statement could strengthen the international resolve to fight terrorism.
The spokesperson said the statement shows that the cooperative spirit, so vitally needed to defeat the scourge of terrorism, has been sacrificed at the altar of geopolitical considerations.
She said 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. She added that it is thus completely ill-placed to caste any aspersions on Pakistan and its fight against terrorism.
The Spokesperson 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 .This is tantamount to abdication of international responsibility.
The Spokesperson said Pakistan is also deeply concerned over the planned transfer of advanced military technologies to India. She said such steps are accentuating military imbalance in the region and undermining strategic stability. She said they remain unhelpful in achieving the objective of a durable peace in South Asia.
The Foreign Office spokesperson urged international partners to take a holistic and objective view of the issues of peace and security in South Asia and refrain from endorsing one-sided positions.
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