ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday night it had taken “strong exception to the unwarranted references to Pakistan” in a joint statement issued in Washington at the end of the US-India 2+2 Dialogue.

In an official handout, the ministry criticized the “anti-Pakistan assertions made by Indian Ministers of Defense and External Affairs during the Joint Press Availability.”

“We also take exception to the selective and one-sided nature of the Joint Statement,” the ministry said, adding that the “grave humanitarian and human rights situation in the Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) caused by India’s unilateral and illegal measures of 5 August 2019” constituted “a serious threat to peace and security in South Asia.”

“Failing to take cognizance of this serious situation is tantamount to abdication of international responsibility,” the statement added.

The country’s foreign ministry also informed it had conveyed its concerns to the United States over the issue through diplomatic channels.

“The international community recognizes Pakistan’s efforts, sacrifices and successes in the fight against terrorism,” the statement continued. “We believe India’s state-terrorism in IOJ&K and its threats to Pakistan imperil regional peace and security.”

According to media reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had told India’s ministers of defense and external affairs that their country had “rightful concerns” about “terrorism emanating from Pakistan.” He also noted that the US would take New Delhi’s apprehensions over the matter into account.

“We have been unambiguous in our partnership with the Indian government about terror, terror from wherever it emanates, whether it’s from inside of Pakistan or from anyplace else,” Pompeo was quoted as saying by media outlets at the conclusion of the US-India talks.