Tokyo dismisses Pak statement on India-Japan 2+2 dialogue; asks Islamabad to take 'resolute action' on countering terror

Japan has dismissed Pakistan foreign ministry statement on India-Japan 2+2 dialogue and asked Islamabad to take "resolute action" on terror and make efforts on "concerns of the international community".

Islamabad on Monday had issued a strongly worded statement on it being mentioned in India-Japan 2+2 statement after the latter called on Pakistan to act on terror.

Speaking to WION exclusively from Tokyo, Atsushi Kaifu Deputy Press Secretary, Deputy Director-General for Press and Public Diplomacy, Japanese foreign ministry, said, "International community has been so far calling upon Pakistan to take resolute actions in countering terrorism."

Atsushi said: "The wordings in the related paragraph of the Japan-India 2+2 dialogue reflects which reiterates the position of the government of Japan to hope Pakistan to continue to make its utmost effort to sweep concerns of the international community away."

The maiden India-Japan 2+2 joint statement mentioned Pakistan by name, calling on the country to take action against terror groups and "fully comply with international commitments including to FATF". 

The move perturbed Islamabad, which on the Monday evening statement said that the "reference is gratuitous and completely unwarranted."

The statement from Islamabad said Japan hasn't taken "objective and balanced view" of the issues of peace and security in South Asia and Tokyo should refrain "from endorsing positions that are one-sided & divorced from ground realities".

India-Japan maiden 2+2 dialogue took place on November and saw the participation of India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar, defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.