THE Foreign Office on Tuesday rejected the “unwarranted references” to Pakistan in the statement issued by the US-India Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue, which amounted to levelling of baseless accusation as it called on Islamabad to take steps to ensure that its territory is not used for terrorist attacks. FO Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said it is important that partner countries take an objective view of the issues of peace and security in South Asia and refrain from endorsing positions that are one-sided and divorced from ground realities.
Pakistan’s commitment to fight the menace of terrorism is manifest in its verifiable successes it scored during a war that cost heavily in terms of men and material. The country initiated a broad-based campaign against the threat of terrorism and took action against all sorts of terrorists without any discrimination and normalcy in previously terrorist-ridden areas is a clear proof of genuineness of Pakistan’s commitment to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. India’s attempts to malign Pakistan are understandable as these are used as a tactic to divert attention from the state-sponsored terrorism in Occupied Kashmir but Washington’s joining of the chorus is regrettable. Only the other day, the US envoy on Afghanistan acknowledged Pakistan’s role in first bringing the US and Taliban across the table and then Kabul government and Taliban for negotiations for intra-Afghan dialogue. Therefore, instead of indulging in a blame game to please India and send dismaying signals to Pakistan, Washington should focus on elimination of terrorist elements in Afghanistan which are used by India to carry out terrorist and subversive activities inside Pakistan. It is also moral responsibility of the world’s only super power to speak for fundamental rights of Kashmiris which are infringed upon on a daily basis by Indian occupation forces.
