India has strongly dismissed comments made by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari regarding alleged threats to Muslim religious sites in the country, describing them as baseless and politically motivated.
Responding to Zardari’s remarks, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan had no authority to comment on India’s internal affairs and rejected the observations outright.
“India firmly rejects the unwarranted statements made by the President of Pakistan. He has no locus standi to speak on matters that are entirely internal to India,” Jaiswal said.
‘Matter Of International Concern’
The MEA spokesperson also highlighted Pakistan’s own human rights record, calling it a matter of international concern. He noted that Islamabad’s treatment of religious minorities has long drawn criticism from rights groups and observers around the world.
Jaiswal said Pakistan has a well-documented history of discrimination and persecution against minority communities belonging to different faiths. He added that violence linked to blasphemy laws and systemic targeting of groups such as Hindus and the Ahmadiyya community continue to remain serious concerns.
Referring to Zardari’s comments, the spokesperson said they reflected Pakistan’s politics of intolerance and should be viewed as a deliberate attempt to attack India politically.
“These remarks are particularly ironic given Pakistan’s own record. They can only be seen as a politically driven attack rooted in policies of bigotry and hatred,” he said.
The sharp response came after Zardari raised concerns on social media over reports relating to the historic Masjid Ganj Shaheeda in Varanasi and other Muslim sites in India. New Delhi has consistently maintained that Pakistan should refrain from commenting on domestic matters and has repeatedly rejected such interventions.
