Pakistan summons Indian envoy to protest 'fabricated' allegations on Nankana Sahib incident

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires to convey its "strong rejection of baseless and fabricated Indian allegations concerning the Sikh community" according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). 

On Friday, dozens of demonstrators had protested over alleged unjust treatment of police in a case involving the marriage of a young couple, which was portrayed as a communal issue by the Indian media.

Pakistan strongly protested the "motivated and mischievous allegations" posed by the Indian government relating to the 'attack' and 'desecration' of the holy Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and “targeted killing” of a Pakistani Sikh youth in Peshawar. 

The statement said that the allegations were 'desperate attempts' on part of the Indian government to divert the attention from the atrocities it was committing in occupied Kashmir. 

"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," read the statement. 

Pakistan called on India to refrain from pointing fingers at it and instead ensure "effective protection of its own minorities" and their places of worship from "repeated instances of desecration, hate crimes and mob lynchings."

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday had condemned the Nankana incident and said it was different from the state-sponsored oppression of minorities in India.

The prime minister, in a series of tweets, said that the Nankana incident was “against his vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary”.

“The ongoing attacks across India on Muslims and other minorities is this: the former is against my vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary,” PM Imran tweeted.

Related links:

Nankana incident 'condemnable', against my 'vision', says PM Imran

PM Imran seeks report on Nankana Sahib incident as Punjab police apprehend main accused in case