Washington: India and the US on Thursday asked Pakistan to take "immediate and irreversible action" to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorism against other countries and to prosecute the perpetrators of cross-border terror attacks, including Mumbai and Pathankot strikes.
The two countries also asked Pakistan to take concerted action against all terrorist networks, including al-Qaeda, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani Network, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and D-Company of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, according to a Joint Statement issued after the 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US.
India and Afghanistan accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network and other militant groups, which carry out attacks in the two countries.
The Joint Statement was issued at the end of the second India-US 2+2 dialogue between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the State Department on Wednesday amidst the historic impeachment vote against President Donald Trump.
The first 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi in September last year after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump.
"The Ministers called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorism against other countries in any manner, and to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of cross-border terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot," the Joint Statement said.
CAA
India is a vibrant democracy and has institutions to address concerns of religious freedom and human rights, the US has said, refusing to treat the country at par with other nations on such issues which constitute the core of its values and diplomacy. The remarks were made by a US State Department official to PTI following the conclusion of the 2+2 meet. "There is a debate going on in India over this very legislation. It's a legislation that will be reviewed by the courts. It's being protested by political parties. It's being debated in the media. All of these institutions exist in a democratic India and so we respect that process," said the senior official.
Asked about Kashmir, the citizenship law, criticism of the Modi government's attitude toward Muslims and whether India under Prime minister Narendra Modi is headed in the wrong direction, the official said, "I would not. I think what we see in India is, again, a vibrant democracy". "I would remind you that in the May elections 67 per cent of the Indian people came out to vote, that was the largest percentage of women voters that we've seen. It was peaceful, it was contested, it was contested at national-level politics, at local-level politics. We have to respect that process," the official asserted.
"There may be individual policies that are going to evoke concern. We will express our concern, we engage with the Indian Government regularly on the full spectrum of issues. But you can't ignore that these are not policies that are being done in the dark, and so we have to respect that debate, and as well as add our voice to it when appropriate," said the senior official.
Terrorism
India appreciated US support at the United Nations for terrorist designations, including of JeM leader Masood Azhar, and the US welcomed changes in Indian law that will facilitate further cooperation on terrorism designations, it said.
In one of the deadliest terror attacks in India's history, 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and over 300 injured when 10 heavily-armed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, a UN designated terrorist and founder of the LeT, was the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The US has also offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.
Pakistan has been reluctant to take any concrete action against Saeed. It has also faced strict scrutiny and serious warnings from FATF (Financial Action Task Force) for its lack of action to curb terror financing by pro-terror groups and individuals, the statement said.
Taking note of the judicial cooperation on terrorism cases between the US Federal Judicial Centre and the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal, the two sides intend to facilitate further cooperation between them in new areas and through joint judicial workshops for third-country partners.
(With PTI inputs)
