Key points
- Jaishankar condemns Pakistan
- Pakistan says it actively works to safeguard minorities
- India would do well to address its own failures: FO
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday slammed India for lecturing the country on minority rights, stating that India was in no position to make such statements given its long history of violation of human rights.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said in an address to the parliament that his country was concerned over “treatment of minorities in Pakistan”.
Responding to media queries concerning the remarks, the FO spokesperson said, “India is in no position to champion minority rights, as it remains a serial violator of those very rights.”
In Pakistan, state institutions actively work to safeguard minorities as a matter of policy, he said.
Tacit approval
In stark contrast, incidents targeting minorities in India frequently occur with the tacit approval—or even complicity—of elements within the ruling dispensation, the spokesperson noted.
“The systematic promotion of hatred, discrimination, and violence against minorities in India is well-documented. From the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to the bulldozing of homes; from the 2002 Gujarat massacre to the 2020 Delhi pogrom; from the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992 to the consecration of a temple on its ruins in 2024; from cow vigilantism and mob lynchings to attacks on mosques and shrines—India’s record is marred by egregious and systemic violations of minority rights, particularly those of Muslims.”
Rather than feigning concern for minorities elsewhere, the Indian government would do well to address its own failures, the FO official said.
“It must take concrete steps to ensure the safety, protection, and well-being of minorities—including Muslims—and safeguard their places of worship, cultural heritage, and fundamental rights.”
