Pakistan summons US diplomat to deliver demarche over last week's US-India joint statement

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan summoned the US deputy chief of mission on Monday to register a formal protest against last week's US-India joint statement, which urged Islamabad "to act against cross-border terrorism."

"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," said a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

The US diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey a demarche, emphasizing that Washington should refrain from making statements "that may be construed as an encouragement of India's baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan."

It was also emphasized that counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US has been progressing well and that an enabling environment centered on trust and understanding was critical to further solidifying Islamabad-Washington ties, the statement said.

The joint statement, issued on Thursday after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, called on Pakistan to "take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks."

Islamabad, in response, rejected the statement calling it "unwarranted, one-sided and misleading."