Pakistan Lodges Protest Over Mention in US-India Statement Condemning Terrorism

PM Modi and President Biden emphasised that Pakistan should be held accountable for the 26/11 and Pathankot attacks.

On his last day of the visit, PM Modi held interactions with select CEOs, professionals and other stakeholders in a 'tech handshake event'.

(Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)

After the United States and India released a joint statement against Pakistan's involvement in cross-border terrorism, the country lodged a protest with the US and summoned the US Deputy Chief of Mission, Andrew Schofer.

“Pakistan’s concerns and disappointment at the unwarranted, one-sided and misleading references to it in the joint statement were conveyed to the US side," it said.

Schofer was handed a demarche over the joint statement, which Pakistan claimed contained "unwarranted, one-sided and misleading references" to it.

In a statement, the Pakistan Foreign Office said, “It was stressed that the United States should refrain from issuing statements that may be construed as an encouragement of India’s baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden issued a joint statement after engaging in one-on-one meetings and delegation-level talks on Thursday. They both emphasised the importance of holding Pakistan accountable for the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks.

During his address to the Joint Meeting of the US Congress, Prime Minister Modi expressed unequivocal views on counterterrorism, stating there should be no room for hesitation when dealing with this global menace. He subtly called for action against nations that support terrorism, with a veiled reference to Pakistan.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the persistent threat posed by radicalism and terrorism to the international community, even after more than two decades since the tragic events of 9/11 and over a decade since the Mumbai attacks on 26/11.

According to the Pakistan foreign office, counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the United States is progressing positively. They emphasised the need for an environment based on trust and understanding to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“This was a bilateral visit, it is his right. They met [and] they had a discussion. But the joint communique issued after the meeting — reading that joint communique as a former foreign minister of Pakistan — caused me great pain,” Qureshi said on Sunday.

Addressing the media in Washington on Monday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said:

"We will raise the issue regularly with Pakistani officials, and will continue to work together to counter mutual terrorist threats, as we discussed during our March 2023 CT dialogue."

Mr. Miller was responding to a question on the India-US joint statement issued during the US state visit of Prime Minister Modi.

Responding to a question about the India-US joint statement, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We have also been consistent on the importance of Pakistan continuing to take steps to permanently disband all terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and their various front organisations".