Even as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeks “meaningful engagement” with India, Islamabad continues to be engaged in what could spoil the atmosphere further between the two nations. Pakistan foreign office’s comments on the Jahangirpuri violence have angered India, with the diplomatic sources raising serious objections over the remarks made by Islamabad.
Though an official response is yet to come from New Delhi, government sources called it as “an attempt by Pakistan to poke its nose into internal affairs of India with the motive to fan communal sentiments for its vested interests”. “Soon there will be an official strongly-worded reaction from India on whatever remarks were made by Pakistan’s foreign office. But for the time being, Islamabad will be apprised of New Delhi’s protest through diplomatic channels,” a diplomat told The Daily Guardian.
In fact, the Pakistan foreign office in a statement on Monday “strongly condemned” what it described as the recent spree of violence and targeted attacks against Muslims in India. Pakistan was reacting to the happenings in Jahangirpuri. “While Pakistan PM is expressing desire to normalize bilateral ties with India, his foreign office comes up with this kind of objectionable and ludicrous statement which has no basis at all,” an official argued. “Sharif is saying that his country is committed to maintenance of regional peace and security, while on the contrary, the key ministry tries to fan communal tensions in the neighbouring country. And, the PM himself raises the Kashmir issue as his core concern at the same time regardless of the fact that it would complicate the matter further,” the official pointed out.
Sources at the Indian foreign ministry said that before pointing fingers at others, Pakistan should recall how ethnic and religious minorities have been treated badly and inhumanly there. “Pakistan will be reminded once again of its own track record in terms of injustice to minorities on its soil. India will send its message across to Islamabad through diplomatic routes,” a highly-placed official told The Daily Guardian. What is on expected lines is that Pakistan has sought to internationalise the issue, drawing attention of the international community, especially human rights organizations and the United Nations, to the incidents. “Pakistan under the new regime will stick to old tricks by seeking to internationalise one issue or the other,” said an official.
“What Pakistan should not ignore is the Human Rights Report released by the US State Department recently that listed gross human rights violations and concluded that there was no respect for civil liberties in Pakistan,” a source said. “The report highlighted how there was a lack of government accountability, and how abuses often went unpunished which encouraged a culture of impunity among perpetrators.” Despite Shehbaz Sharif’s letter diplomacy, India is moving cautiously as Pakistan cannot be trusted and the recent development lends credence to the same, a diplomat said. The US State Department report has painted a grim picture of human rights abuses in Pakistan.