ISLAMABAD Pakistan: Pakistan has categorically rejected the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ unwarranted and gratuitous remarks on an incident involving the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Spokespersons of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that it is highly hypocritical of a Country that is the purveyor of state-sponsored discrimination against its minorities to pontificate on the issue of minority rights elsewhere.
The Spokesperson said that a mature state would have appreciated the immediate arrest of the accused against whom strict legal action has already been initiated.
Chaudhri said that the government, legislature, judiciary, civil society, and the media in Pakistan have always worked for ensuring constitutional protections for members of minorities as equal citizens and their places of worship whereas in India incidents against minorities take place with state complicity.
Rather than feigning concern for minorities elsewhere, India should seriously introspect, move away from entrenched anti-minority mindset being destructively spawned by the RSS-BJP regime, and discard state-sponsored discriminatory policies, the Spokesperson said.
The Spokesperson said that India must ensure the safety, protection, and well-being of the minorities including Muslims, and take effective steps for the protection of their places of worship, culture, and heritage sites.
