India and the United States have asked Pakistan to take immediate and irreversible action against terrorism. The two countries called upon Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to perpetuate terror. The statement was issued after India & US 2+2 dialogue, which was attended by US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Llyod Austin, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Along with calling upon Pakistan to ensure its territory is not used for terrorist attacks, the ministers called upon action against all terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizb-ul Mujahideen. In the press briefing, Rajnath Singh shared that the two countries also discussed their neighbours and tried to make sure that their assessment is also shared. He added that counterterrorism was also discussed in the meeting, along with how it is being used against India.
India further expressed it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment, which is free of terror, hostility and violence, and pointed out that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of hostility and terror.
With this, the leaders committed to continued exchange of information about sanctions, designations against terror groups and individuals, countering violent radicalism, use of internet for terrorist purposes and cross-border movement of terrorists.
