India Slams Pakistan's "Hypocritical" Remarks on Minorities, Cites Its "Abysmal" Record

When asked about Pakistan Foreign Office (PFO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi's recent remarks regarding a demolition drive in New Delhi, Jaiswal said, "I need not elaborate or tell you what is the situation of minorities in that country and those people who make such comments should first look at their record before commenting on others."

Andrabi's remarks were made after a demolition drive was conducted near Faiz-e-Elahi Mosque in the Turkman Gate area of Delhi to remove illegal encroachments. According to officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the drive was conducted to clear unauthorised structures from land adjoining the mosque and nearby areas, in compliance with directions issued by the Delhi High Court.

Last month, India had categorically rejected Islamabad's remarks on violence against minorities in India while also highlighting Pakistan's abysmal record of persecuting religious minorities.

"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," read a statement issued by the MEA on the remarks made by a spokesperson of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In November, India had slammed Pakistan over its statements on flag hoisting at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, conveying strongly and clearly that Islamabad has no moral standing to lecture others, considering that the country holds a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression and systemic mistreatment of its minorities.

Addressing a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that Pakistan should instead focus on its own abysmal human rights record.

When asked about Pakistan Foreign Ministry's statement on flag hoisting at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, Jaiswal responded, "We have seen the reported remarks and reject them with the contempt they deserve. As a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities, Pakistan has no moral standing to lecture others. Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights record."

Last year, a report in the New Delhi-based 'International Centre for Peace Studies' highlighted that the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, especially the consistent framing of Hindus as the "other", the manipulation of Islam and anti-India sentiment for political gain, reveal the stark contradictions in the country's national identity.

Citing Lahore-based Centre for Social Justice, the report also said 344 blasphemy cases were documented in 2024, and between 2021-2024 at least 421 minority women and girls - mostly Hindus and Christians, with 71 per cent of them minors - were subjected to forced conversion.

- IANS