Islamabad, Responding to media queries regarding the US-India Joint Statement of 22 June 2023, the Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra said:

“We consider the Pakistan-specific reference in the ‘Joint Statement from the United States and India’, issued on 22 June 2023, as unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading. The reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones. We are surprised that it has been added despite Pakistan’s close counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S.

Pakistan has 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.

The international community has time and again recognized Pakistan’s efforts and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. It has long concluded that terrorism can be defeated through concerted and cooperative actions. Today, we fail to see how the assertions made in the Joint Statement could strengthen the international resolve to fight terrorism. 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.

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 caste any aspersions on Pakistan and its fight against terrorism.

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.

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.

We urge our 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.”