Pak terms US remarks 'misplaced, self-contradictory'

Pakistan has termed as "misplaced and self-contradictory" the critical remarks by the US that it was being selective in targeting terrorists and not going after the groups threatening its neighbours.

"We have taken a serious note of the remarks made by the US Deputy Spokesperson, which are self-contradictory and oblivious of the fact that Pakistan has taken concrete measures to counter terrorism in a phase-wise manner keeping in view Pakistan's national security concerns," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said yesterday.

Zakaria said that Senator John McCain and other US legislators and congressmen unanimously acknowledged the remarkable achievements made by Pakistan in its counter terrorism drive. The statement came two days after US State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner in a strong message asked Pakistan to act against terror groups targeting its neighbours and not just the ones that pose a threat to it, saying that Pakistan was going after terror groups "selectively". Pakistan said the arrest of an alleged Indian 'spy' in March this year did not prompt a reaction from the US.

"The arrest of the neighbour's active service officer who publicly confessed his state's involvement in perpetrating and financing terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan surprisingly did not prompt any statement by the US," said Zakaria. Pakistan also made a veiled reference to India's alleged use of Afghanistan's territory to create regional instability. "Gen McChrystal's 2009 report had also mentioned the neighbour's activities from the territory of another of Pakistan's neighbour and that they could be detrimental to stability in Pakistan and the region," the statement alleged.

"Given these ground realities together with the inhuman treatment meted out by the 'neighbour's' forces to the defenceless and innocent people struggling for their right to self-determination," Zakaria said apparently referring to the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.

The remarks of the Deputy Spokesperson are "misplaced" and are not sensitive to Pakistan's security concerns, it added.