Pakistan today conveyed its "disappointment" to France and Germany over remarks by their leaders linking it to terrorism directed against India, saying such comments were "unjustified and uncalled for".
Pakistan today conveyed its "disappointment" to France and Germany over remarks by their leaders linking it to terrorism directed against India, saying such comments were "unjustified and uncalled for".
The foreign ministry conveyed the "government and the people of Pakistan's disappointment separately to the Ambassador of France and the German Charge d'Affaires," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement.
He said Pakistan was "surprised and disappointed" at the reported remarks made by President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Both France and Germany were well aware of the great sacrifices being rendered by Pakistan in the ongoing fight against terrorism.
"Therefore, incriminating Pakistan in the context of terrorism was unjustified and uncalled for," Basit said.
During a visit to Mumbai last week, French President Sarkozy condemned Pakistan for allowing militants to take refuge in its tribal border areas as he paid tribute to victims of the 2008 terrorist attacks on India's financial hub.
He said it was "unacceptable" that terrorist networks could find refuge in Pakistan and use it as a springboard to attack India and French troops in Afghanistan or other countries.
On Saturday, Chancellor Merkel made it clear to Pakistan that terrorism is not a means to solve political problems.
"We want to do whatever we can to make it clear to Pakistan that terror cannot be a means to an end in solving a political problem.
"We will make it clear to Pakistan that terror is unacceptable," she said during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Berlin.
In his statement, Basit said "Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations with both France and Germany" and bilateral cooperation in all areas had "lately been on the increase".
Responding to the demarche given by the Foreign Office, the German charge d'Affaires said Chancellor Merkel's remarks "had been misquoted".
Merkel had "outlined general principles of Germany's counterterrorism policy" and her remarks "were not Pakistan-specific," the Charge d'Affaires was quoted as saying.
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