India has firmly dismissed Pakistan’s allegations regarding the treatment of religious minorities, labeling Islamabad’s criticism as hypocritical given its own poor human rights record.
Photo : PTI
India on Monday strongly rejected Pakistan’s allegations of attacks on religious minorities, saying the neighbouring country has an “abysmal record” on the treatment of minorities and no moral authority to comment on India’s internal affairs.
Responding to remarks by Pakistan’s foreign affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, the Ministry of External Affairs said Islamabad was indulging in baseless “finger pointing” to divert attention from its own human rights record.
“We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself. Pakistan’s horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths is a well established fact. No amount of finger pointing will obfuscate it,” the MEA said in a statement.
The response came after Andrabi urged the international community to take note of what he described as recent incidents “targeting religious minorities” in India, including “Christmas-related vandalism and attacks on Muslims”, according to a report by ARY News.
In a statement issued from Islamabad, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The persecution of minorities in India is a matter of deep concern. Recent condemnable incidents of vandalism during Christmas, as well as state-sponsored campaigns targeting Muslims including the demolition of their homes and repeated lynchings, notably the case of Muhammad Akhlaq, in which the state worked to shield the perpetrators from accountability have deepened fear and alienation among Muslims. The list of such victims is sadly long. The international community should take note of these developments and take appropriate steps to help protect the fundamental rights of vulnerable communities in India.”
Last month, a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Office expressed “deep concern” over the raising of a religious flag on the shikhara (spire) at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected Islamabad’s remarks with “contempt” and said Pakistan should look into its own record of “bigotry” and “repression”.
