Pak exploiting death of displaced Hindus: MEA

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 1

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sought to explain away the protests in front of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad as an attempt by the Pakistani authorities to exploit the death of 11 Pakistani Hindus in India.

Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office had summoned the Indian Acting High Commissioner on reports of 11 displaced Hindus from Pakistan having died in August after being fed a toxic substance.

Reacting to the demonstrations, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava alleged that they were staged by people who “claimed to be a part of the Hindu community” and was “exploited” by the Pakistani authorities to further its own anti-India propaganda.

It was the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety and security of the Indian High Commission and its personnel, he added.

President of the Pakistan Hindu Council and a serving parliamentarian from Sindh, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who led the demonstration, has demanded that India provide access for a probe team from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, reacting to Pakistan's criticism of the Babri Masjid verdict, the MEA said India was a mature democracy where the government and citizens abide by the verdicts of the court and show respect for the rule of law. 

“It may be difficult for a system with a coercive apparatus where people and the courts can be silenced at the will of the establishment, to understand such democratic ethos,” said Srivastava.