'Look At Yourself First': Pakistan Tries To Lecture India On Minorities, MEA Hits Back
Pakistan, in an official statement, alleged incidents of vandalism and violence in India ahead of Christmas, claiming these had created fear and insecurity among religious minorities.
- India rejects Pakistan's minority rights claims as baseless.
- New Delhi accuses Pakistan of deflecting from its own record.
- India highlights Pakistan's history of minority persecution.
India has strongly pushed back against Pakistan’s allegations on minority rights, calling them baseless and misleading, and accusing Islamabad of attempting to divert attention from its own record. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said New Delhi has taken note of remarks made by Pakistan’s Foreign Office and has categorically rejected them. India underlined that Pakistan’s claims lack credibility, pointing to what it described as the country’s well-documented and deeply troubling treatment of religious minorities. The sharp response comes amid renewed diplomatic sparring between the two neighbours over human rights issues.
India Rejects Pakistan’s Minority Claims
Responding to questions, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has noted the statements made by Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi and dismissed them as unfounded. Jaiswal said India rejects comments from a country whose “abysmal record” on minority rights “speaks for itself”.
He stressed that the treatment of minorities in Pakistan is widely known and cannot be obscured by what he described as finger-pointing at India. “The horrific and systemic victimisation of religious minorities in Pakistan is a well-established fact,” Jaiswal said, adding that no amount of accusations can erase this reality.
Pakistan’s Allegations, India’s Counter
Pakistan, in an official statement, alleged incidents of vandalism and violence in India ahead of Christmas, claiming these had created fear and insecurity among religious minorities. Islamabad alleged that minorities in India, including Christians and Muslims, were being targeted, calling the situation a matter of “grave concern”.
India countered by pointing to longstanding concerns about minority rights within Pakistan itself. New Delhi said Pakistan’s own minorities lack basic protections and freedoms, and that allegations against India appear aimed at deflecting attention from domestic issues.
Minority Rights Concerns In Pakistan
India cited international attention to the situation of minorities in Pakistan, particularly Hindus and Christians. It referred to reports highlighting cases of abduction, forced religious conversion and forced marriages involving minority girls. According to United Nations-linked findings cited by India, around 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls are abducted annually in Pakistan and compelled to convert and marry.
India also pointed to human rights data indicating that in 2022 alone, dozens of Hindu girls were forcibly converted and married off. Between 2019 and 2025, hundreds of serious cases of violence, including killings of Hindus, were reported.
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