ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday hit back at the United States State Department, asking Washington to “reserve its concern” for the financing and execution of terror activities by India.
The Foreign Office (FO) statement came after US State Department’s suggested Islamabad to do more to hold Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi accountable. An Anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore convicted Lakhvi on a charge of terror financing.
The US statement said although the US was “encouraged” by Lakhvi’s recent conviction, his alleged crimes go far beyond financing terrorism. “Pakistan should further hold him accountable for his involvement in terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attacks,” it added.
We are encouraged by the recent conviction of Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. However, his crimes go far beyond financing terrorism. Pakistan should further hold him accountable for his involvement in terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attacks.
— State_SCA (@State_SCA) January 9, 2021
In response, the FO stated that Pakistan was fully abiding by its own statutes and fulfilment of its international obligations. “The investigations, prosecutions and subsequent convictions, through due process, are a reflection of the effectiveness of Pakistan’s legal system,” it added.
which operates independent of any extraneous factors or influences. The legal process in the ‘Mumbai Case’ remains stalled due to reluctance by Indian side to send witnesses for cross examination by Pakistani court. 2/3
— Spokesperson ???????? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) January 10, 2021
The FO statement emphasised that the legal process in the ‘Mumbai Case’ remained stalled due to the “reluctance by the Indian side to send witnesses for cross-examination by the Pakistani court”.
“The State Department is encouraged to reserve its concern for the active aiding, abetting, planning, promoting, financing & execution of terrorist activities by India for which sufficient irrefutable evidence has already been provided,” it added.
A day earlier, the FO had also rejected a malicious statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding Lakhvi’s conviction, saying it was unfortunate that India was linking Pakistan’s due legal process with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) review.
India had questioned the timing of action against Lakhvi. According to Indian media, the MEA said that the action to convict Lakhvi was taken by Pakistan at this time to project a “sense of compliance” ahead of the upcoming FATF meet.
