Last Updated: June 27, 2023, 09:44 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands with President Joe Biden during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House Thursday (Image: AP)
US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Pakistan had taken important steps to counter terrorist groups, but added that Washington advocated for more to be done
The US State Department on Monday called on Pakistan to disband all terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller during a news briefing said that Pakistan had taken important steps to counter terrorist groups, but added that Washington advocated for more to be done.
“The Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks over the years. We do recognize that Pakistan has taken some important steps to counter terrorist groups in line with the completion of its Financial Action Task Force actions plans. This includes the arrest and conviction of Sajid Mir,” Matt Miller said in response to a question by a Pakistani journalist.
“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 organizations,” he added.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which more than 160 people were killed, while Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the 2019 Pulwama terror attack that resulted in the death of 40 Indian troops.
The Pakistani reporter also questioned Miller on the alleged human rights and religious freedom violations in India, to which the State Department Spokesperson said, “We regularly raise concerns about human rights in our conversations with Indian officials. And you saw President Biden speak to this himself in the joint press conference that he held with Prime Minister Modi.”
On the question of Obama’s remarks about minority rights in India, the spokesperson refused to comment.
The statement from the State Department comes after US President Joe Biden on Thursday joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in warning Pakistan to clamp down on cross-border terrorists that target New Delhi.
In a joint statement issued as Modi paid a state visit to Washington, the two leaders called for action against extremist groups based in Pakistan such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
“They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
PM Modi, during his state visit to the US, said there can be “no ifs or buts” in dealing with terrorism and sought action against state sponsors of terrorism, in a veiled attack on Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned the US embassy’s deputy chief of mission on Monday to express concern over the statement.
“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,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.
“It was also emphasized that counter-terrorism co-operation between Pakistan and the U.S. had been progressing well and that an enabling environment, centred around trust and understanding, was imperative to further solidifying Pakistan-U.S. ties,” the statement added.
