- India had alleged “systemic victimization of minorities” in Pakistan.
- FO says India’s comments cannot ‘hide its record’ on discrimination.
- Cites mob lynchings, attacks on mosques, violence against minorities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) on Saturday dismissed the so-called “concerns” of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over Pakistan’s Shia community, terming the remarks “cynical and diversionary” and an “exercise in diversion disguised as concern”.
The response follows comments from India’s MEA, which cited statements it attributed to Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Force Syed Asim Munir.
CDF Munir had met Shia clerics in Rawalpindi earlier this month and, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the meeting focused on national security and the role of ulama in maintaining societal harmony.
The ISPR statement added that CDF Munir stressed that religious sentiments should not be exploited to incite violence in the country.
Indian MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal quoted by Indian News Agency ANI Friday, said the remarks reflected Pakistan’s “systemic victimization of minorities.”
Responding a day later, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said: “Pakistan rejects India’s remarks as cynical and a diversion – an exercise in deflection disguised as concern. »
The foreign ministry official said India’s comments could not “hide its own record of consistent normalization of discrimination and violence against Muslims, Christians and other marginalized communities – from restrictions on worship to mob vigilantism and targeting of homes and livelihoods.”
“These patterns are well documented,” said the Foreign Ministry’s Andrabi, adding: “The growing wave of mob lynchings targeting Muslims is deeply abhorrent and underscores a climate of unchecked brutality.”
In 2025, more than 55 Muslims were reported to have been lynched in India, and since January 2026, more than 19 Muslims have been killed by violent mobs, according to the spokesperson.
“Extremist groups illegally sought to destroy 11 mosques. Perpetrators of crimes against Muslims often act with impunity, thanks to state patronage, and are rarely held to account,” he said.
“Pakistan urges India to address these serious and well-documented concerns within its own borders, ensure the protection of Muslims, Christians and other communities in accordance with its constitutional and international obligations, and refrain from making unfounded and politically motivated statements about others,” the statement concluded.
