- India had alleged “systemic victimization of minorities” in Pakistan.
- FO says India’s comments cannot “mask its record” of discrimination.
- Citing mob lynchings, attacks on mosques, violence against minorities.
The Ministry of External Affairs (FO) on Saturday rejected the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s so-called “concerns” over Pakistan’s Shia community, calling the remarks “cynical and diversionary” and an “exercise in deflection masquerading as concern.”
This response follows comments by India’s MEA, which cited statements it attributed to Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Syed Asim Munir.
CDF Munir had met Shia clerics in Rawalpindi earlier this month and according to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the meeting focused on national security and the role of ulema in maintaining communal harmony.
The ISPR statement added that CDF Munir emphasized that religious sentiments must not be exploited to incite violence in the country.
Indian MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, as quoted by the Indian News Agency ANI on Friday said the remarks reflected Pakistan’s “systemic victimization of minorities”.
In response a day later, FO spokesman Tahir Andrabi said: “Pakistan rejects India’s remarks as cynical and diversionary – an exercise in deflection masquerading as concern.”
The State Department official said India’s comments could not “mask its own record of the constant normalization of discrimination and violence against Muslims, Christians and other marginalized communities – from restrictions on worship to mobbing and targeting of homes and livelihoods”.
“These patterns are well documented,” MoFA’s Andrabi said, adding, “The escalating wave of mob lynchings targeting Muslims is deeply abhorrent and underscores a climate of unchecked brutality.”
In the year 2025, more than 55 Muslims were reportedly lynched in India, and since January 2026, over 19 Muslims have been killed by violent mobs, according to the spokesperson.
“Extremist groups have illegally sought the destruction of 11 mosques. The perpetrators of crimes against Muslims often act with impunity, enabled by state patronage, and are rarely held accountable,” 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 baseless and politically motivated statements about others,” the statement concluded.
