Pakistan rejects reference towards it in India-Japan Joint Statement

Pakistan on Monday categorically rejected a reference towards it in a Joint Statement issued by Japan and India in New Delhi last week, calling it "gratuitous and completely unwarranted". In their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, India and Japan on Saturday voiced serious concern over the threat posed to regional peace and security by terror networks operating from Pakistan and asked it to take "resolute and irreversible" action to contain terrorism.

"This reference is gratuitous and completely unwarranted," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said in a statement. Pakistan also conveyed to the Japanese side through diplomatic channels its "serious concerns and rejection of the unacceptable reference Joint Statement," the statement said.

"It is important that partner countries take an objective and balanced view of the issues of peace and security in South Asia and refrain from endorsing positions that are one-sided and divorced from ground realities," it added.