Delhi slams Pak PM's comment on minorities in India

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday strongly protested against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's comment about conditions of minorities in India.

New Delhi conveyed to Islamabad that the Pakistan government would do well to focus on its domestic challenges and improve conditions of its citizens rather than try and divert attention.

Khan on Saturday alleged that people of minority communities had to live like second class citizens in India. He went on to say that the new government of Pakistan would make it sure that none from the minority communities would be treated so in his country. He made the remark while speaking at an event at Balloki in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Saturday.

“The Pakistan Prime Minister’s remarks are an egregious insult to all citizens of India,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi.

“The Pakistan Prime Minister has yet again demonstrated his lack of understanding about India’s secular polity and ethos. He overlooks the obvious fact that adherents of all faiths choose to live under the democratic polity and the progressive Constitution of India.”

The Gurudwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan is a holy place for Sikhs as Guru Nanak was born and lived here.

Khan on Saturday said that his government understood the importance Nankana Sahib had for the Sikh community in Pakistan. He promised that his government would help celebrate the forthcoming 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in Pakistan.

He said that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah worked for the creation of Pakistan because he had understood that the minorities would not be getting their rights at the fullest in “Hindustan'. “(The) Quaid-e-Azam wanted all of the minorities to be equal citizens which eventually was proven through the voices in the Congress that Muslims and minorities would never become equal citizens, the reason he struggled for Pakistan,” said Khan.

“India has eminent leaders of all faiths who occupy its highest Constitutional and official positions,” Kumar, MEA spokesperson, said. “In contrast,” he added, “Pakistani citizens of non-Islamic faith are barred from occupying high constitutional offices.”

“The minorities are often turned away from government bodies like the Economic Advisory Council of their prime minister, even in ‘naya Pakistan',” said Kumar, adding: “The Pakistan Prime Minister’s latest attempts to play with minority sentiment in India will be rejected by the people of India.”