New Delhi: India on Monday slammed Islamabad for its comments on the situation of minorities in India, saying Pakistan’s “horrific and systemic victimisation” of minorities is a well-established fact.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement, said:
“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 spokesperson’s response came after the Pakistan foreign ministry cited reported instances of vandalism in India during Christmas and also voiced concern over alleged violence against Muslims.
“The persecution of minorities in India is a matter of deep concern,” the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
“Recent condemnable incidents of vandalism during Christmas, as well as state-sponsored campaigns targeting Muslims, including the demolition of their homes and repeated lynchings, have deepened fear and alienation among Muslims,” it alleged.
Coincidentally, the Pakistan foreign ministry statement comes a day after the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, under the Mohammed Yunus-led interim government, issued a similar statement — in a pointer to the close “fraternal” relationship that Islamabad and Dhaka now ironically share.
