ISLAMABAD:
While refuting India’s claim of ill-treatment of minorities in Pakistan, the Foreign Office (FO) on Monday asked Indian government to pay attention to human rights violations taking place in its own country amid police action against those protesting the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act.
FO said that India’s propaganda is based only on ‘isolated law and order incidents in Peshawar and Nankana Sahib’, and termed it ‘an attempt to divert attention from the state terrorism in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and systematic discrimination against minorities in India following the Indian Amendment Act.’
“Pakistan attaches the highest respect and sanctity to all places of worship, including those belonging to Sikh religion. We categorically reject Indian allegations regarding any “attack” and “desecration” at the holy Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. These blatant lies are yet another illustration of the quintessential RSS-BJP propaganda drive, which will fail,” the statement read.
FO further emphasized that “Pakistan is a diverse country where people from different faiths, including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, live together. The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all its citizens and the Government takes this obligation seriously with zero tolerance against any discrimination.”
While mentioning Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts in the opening of Kartarpur Corridor the statement said: " The historic opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, 2019 is a clear manifestation of the Prime Minister’s vision in this regard."
Criticizing the ruling BJP’s past record of human rights violations, the FO says: “Those who are responsible for the desecration and demolition of the Babri mosque, massive killings of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat, frequent incidents of mob lynching, and repeated hate crimes against minorities, simply have no feet to stand on.”
While refuting India’s claim of ill-treatment of minorities in Pakistan, the Foreign Office (FO) on Monday asked Indian government to pay attention to human rights violations taking place in its own country amid police action against those protesting the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act.
FO said that India’s propaganda is based only on ‘isolated law and order incidents in Peshawar and Nankana Sahib’, and termed it ‘an attempt to divert attention from the state terrorism in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and systematic discrimination against minorities in India following the Indian Amendment Act.’
“Pakistan attaches the highest respect and sanctity to all places of worship, including those belonging to Sikh religion. We categorically reject Indian allegations regarding any “attack” and “desecration” at the holy Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. These blatant lies are yet another illustration of the quintessential RSS-BJP propaganda drive, which will fail,” the statement read.
FO further emphasized that “Pakistan is a diverse country where people from different faiths, including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, live together. The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all its citizens and the Government takes this obligation seriously with zero tolerance against any discrimination.”
While mentioning Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts in the opening of Kartarpur Corridor the statement said: " The historic opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, 2019 is a clear manifestation of the Prime Minister’s vision in this regard."
Criticizing the ruling BJP’s past record of human rights violations, the FO says: “Those who are responsible for the desecration and demolition of the Babri mosque, massive killings of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat, frequent incidents of mob lynching, and repeated hate crimes against minorities, simply have no feet to stand on.”