ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday categorically rejected the ‘completely unwarranted’ assertions by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in connection with the Hindu temple incident in Karak, and advised the Indian side to set its own house in order rather than feigning concern for minority rights elsewhere.
Responding to the ‘concerns’ by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs with regard to the demolition of a Hindu temple in Karak by a mob, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri rubbished the ‘unwarranted’ assertions, saying this is not the first time the Indian government has tried to feign concern for minority rights elsewhere while being the most egregious and persistent violator of minority rights itself.
From the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to National Register of Citizens (NRC); from the Gujarat massacre of 2002 to the Delhi pogrom of 2020; from the reprehensible demolition of Babri Mosque in 1992 to the despicable acquittal of all the accused by Indian court in 2020; from blaming Muslims for spreading coronavirus to banning of inter-faith marriages; from cow vigilantism and mob lynching to terming the Muslims of West Bengal ‘termites’ and threatening to “throw them into the Bay of Bengal”; from extra-judicial killings of innocent Kashmiris to blatant attempts to turn Muslims into a minority in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) through distribution of ‘fake domicile certificate’, he said and added that the RSS-BJP regime’s record is replete with instances of gross and systemic violations of the rights of minorities, in particular Muslims.
“As a perennial purveyor of state-sponsored discrimination against its minorities, India is in no position to pontificate on the issue of minority rights elsewhere,” he added.
He stated that the clear difference between India and Pakistan in respect of minority rights can be gauged from the fact that the accused in the Karak incident were immediately arrested, orders were issued for repair of the temple, the highest level of judiciary took immediate notice, and senior political leadership condemned the incident.
Whereas, in India, the blatant acts of discrimination against Muslims and other minorities take place with state complicity, he added.
He further stated that the Indian leadership is yet to condemn the perpetrators of the Delhi massacre in February 2020, let alone bring those criminals to justice.
“Given these incontrovertible facts, the Indian Government would be well advised to set its own house in order rather than feigning concern for minority rights elsewhere,” the spokesperson added.
The remarks of the spokesperson comes following Indian media reported that the Indian government has lodged a ‘formal protest’ and ‘serious concerns’ through diplomatic channels with Pakistan over the demolition of the Hindu temple in Karak, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by a mob on Wednesday.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has already arrested more than 30 suspects and 350 booked for their alleged involvement in vandalising of the Hindu temple in Karak. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has also taken a suo motu on the incident and would hear the case on Tuesday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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