The Pakistani Foreign Ministry had reportedly said yesterday, after the ceremony at the Ram Temple, that the event was part of the growing pressure on religious minorities in India.
PM Narendra Modi Tuesday attended Ram Temple flag-hoisting ceremony in Ayodhya
India on Wednesday slammed Pakistan for its reported remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his attendance at the flag-hoisting ceremony marking the completion of the construction of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple at Ayodhya.
Addressing a press conference, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India rejects the remarks with the contempt it deserves.
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The Pakistani Foreign Ministry had reportedly said yesterday, after the ceremony at the Ram Temple, that the event was part of the growing pressure on religious minorities in India.
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Responding to the remarks, the MEA spokesperson said Pakistan had no moral standing to lecture India. It should, on the other hand, focus on its own abysmal human rights record.
“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. Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights record,” Jaiswal said.
The MEA spokesperson also commented on Bangladesh’s request to India for the extradition of former PM Sheikh Hasina, who has been awarded a death sentence in the neighbouring country for crimes against humanity.
Jaiswal said the request from Dhaka has been received and the same is being examined.
“Yes, we have received that request, and the request is being examined as part of judicial and internal legal processes. We remain committed to the people of Bangladesh including peace, democracy, inclusion in that country. We will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all the stakeholders,” the spokesperson told the media.
It may be recalled that Hasina has been living in India in exile ever since being ousted from power last year.
The MEA also reacted to the detention of Arunachal Pradesh woman Prema Thangdok, who was detained at the Shanghai airport by the Chinese authorities.
“We had issued a statement… Yesterday we made a statement, you would have seen that, regarding the arbitrary detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, who was holding a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on onward travel to Japan.
“We want to say that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a fact that is self-evident. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality. At the same time, I said that we did take up this matter; we did make a strong demarche with the Chinese side, both in Beijing and Delhi, when the incident took place.”
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