The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday dismissed Pakistan’s charges of India mistreating its religious minorities, saying Islamabad cannot erase its own "horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths" by pointing fingers at New Delhi.

In response to media queries regarding remarks by the spokesperson of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on incidents in India, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: "We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself. Pakistan’s horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths is a well- established fact. No amount of finger pointing will obfuscate it."

India was responding to remarks by Pakistani Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, who had urged the international community to take note of what he alleged were incidents "targeting religious minorities" in India, including "Christmas-related vandalism and attacks on Muslims."

According to Pakistani news channel ARY News, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi pointed to what he called India shielding the accused in lynching cases, citing the death of Mohammad Akhlaq during the 2015 Dadri violence.

Last month, India came down heavily on Pakistan's statement in which it criticised the hoisting of the sacred flag atop Ayodhya's Ram Mandir, with External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying that Pakistan has no moral standing to lecture others. He specifically called out Pakistan's "deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities".

"We have seen the reported remarks and reject them with the contempt they deserve. As a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities, Pakistan has no moral standing to lecture others," Jaiswal had said.

Source: India Today