India Rejects Pakistan's Minority Rights Criticism, Cites Its "Abysmal Record"

Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi had taken note of the comments made by Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi and dismissed them as baseless.

Rejecting the allegations outright, Jaiswal said, "We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself." Emphasising that Pakistan's treatment of minorities is well documented, he added, "Pakistan's horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths is a well-established fact."

Stressing that criticism from Islamabad would not alter ground realities, Jaiswal further said, "No amount of finger-pointing will obfuscate it."

The Indian response followed comments by Andrabi, who urged the international community to take note of what he described as incidents "targeting religious minorities" in India, including "Christmas-related vandalism and attacks on Muslims," ARY News reported.

According to the report, Andrabi referred to alleged cases of "Christmas vandalism and state-backed campaigns targeting Muslims, including demolitions of homes and repeated lynching cases," citing what he described as the high-profile case of Muhammad Akhlaq and alleging that authorities had shielded those responsible from accountability.

Pakistan's record on minority rights has been shaped by decades of violence, systemic discrimination and social exclusion, with religious communities frequently facing mob attacks, communal unrest, restrictive laws and coercive religious conversions.

Members of the Ahmadi community have endured prolonged persecution driven by both state policies and societal hostility, while Christian populations have repeatedly been affected by episodes of communal violence. One of the most severe incidents occurred during the 2009 unrest in Punjab's Gojra town, where coordinated attacks on Christian localities resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.

Hindu religious sites have also been targeted during periods of communal tension. In 2020, a Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district was attacked and vandalised during a violent flare-up, underscoring the vulnerability of minority places of worship.

- ANI