Washington: Amid intense pressure from the United States to tackle terrorism on home soil, Pakistan once again tried to divert world's attention and escape its obligations by pointing fingers at India.
"In India also, militancy is growing under the name of Hindutva ideology and others,” Pakistan's ambassador to the US Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told a Washington audience this week.
Chaudhry further accused India of taking advantage of the current situation to gain a role in Afghanistan and create instability in Pakistan. "We believe India is using to create a double squeeze situation against Pakistan," he alleged.
India has repeatedly denied such claims.
Stressing that Pakistan is interested in having an open dialogue with India, the envoy said, “We always maintained that for that to have, both countries should stay engaged in a dialogue. But at this point in time, Indian leadership feels that they are not ready for a dialogue with Pakistan.”
New Delhi has repeatedly said that terrorism and talks cannot go together.
The envoy further admitted that the Pakistan-US relationship is going through a rough patch.
"Currently, it (US-Pakistan relationship) is under stress. I must admit," said Chaudhry.
A month ago, Donald Trump-led US administration froze $255-million military aid to Pakistan, accusing the country of resorting to “lies and deceit” and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.
The envoy further urged Washington not to look at Islamabad with a "very narrow approach" through the lens of China.
"Sometimes we are viewed through the lens of Afghanistan, and since the United States is not making progress in Afghanistan, that could actually be up against failure. Perhaps it is through -- because of Pakistan and therefore tendency to view Pakistan in that narrow lens," added Chaudhary.
With PTI inputs
