Pakistan committed to protecting rights of minorities: FO tells Indian envoy

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday summoned Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia to convey Pakistan’s strong rejection of baseless and fabricated Indian allegations concerning the Sikh community.

According to a press release issued by the foreign office, Indian envoy was summoned by Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.

The DG (SA & SAARC) conveyed Pakistan’s strong denouncement of the Indian government’s motivated and mischievous allegations of “attack”, “vandalism” and “desecration” at the holy Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and “targeted killing” of a Pakistani Sikh youth in Peshawar, as part of its desperate attempts to divert attention from the continuing state terrorism in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) and systematic discrimination against minorities in India, reads the press release.

The DG (SA&SAARC) underscored that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all its citizens and the Government is committed to protecting the rights of minorities, with zero-tolerance against any discrimination.

Pakistan emphasized that rather than pointing fingers towards others, India should focus on ensuring effective protection of its own minorities and their holy places of worship, including mosques, from repeated instances of desecration, hate crimes and mob lynchings.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan strongly turned down the Indian propaganda about the treatment of minorities in the country.