FO calls India’s ‘religious and bigoted’ comments about Pakistan’s Shia community an ‘exercise of deviance’
The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday dismissed remarks by India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson regarding Pakistan’s Shia community as “cynical and diversionary,” accusing New Delhi of attempting to deflect attention from its own record on minority rights.
The statement came after Andhir Jaiswal, India’s MEA spokesperson, commented on Pakistan’s Shia community and army chief during his weekly briefing on Friday.
“Pakistan rejects India’s remarks as cynical and diversionary—an exercise in deflection masquerading as concern,” the FO said, highlighting what it described as a steady rise in discrimination and violence against Muslims, Christians, and other marginalized communities in India.
The statement cited a wave of mob lynchings and attacks on places of worship, calling the violence “deeply abhorrent.” In 2025, over 55 Muslims were reportedly lynched in India, and since January 2026, more than 19 Muslims have been killed by violent mobs. Extremist groups allegedly targeted 11 mosques, while perpetrators reportedly acted with impunity, often with state complicity.
The FO urged India to address these “serious and well-documented concerns” at home, protect all religious communities under its constitutional and international obligations, and refrain from making “unfounded and politically motivated statements about others.”