Islamabad: Pakistan has rejected India's remarks regarding its Shia community, terming them cynical and diversionary, and an exercise in deflection masquerading as concern. Responding to media queries on a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs about Pakistan's Shia community, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tahir Andrabi said India's comments cannot mask its own record of the steady normalization of discrimination and violence against Muslims, Christians, and other marginalized communities, from curbs on worship to mob vigilantism and the targeting of homes and livelihoods. These patterns are well documented.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Spokesperson noted that the escalating wave of mob lynching targeting Muslims is deeply abhorrent and underscores a climate of unchecked brutality. He highlighted that more than fifty-five Muslims were reportedly lynched in India in 2025, and since January 2026, over nineteen Muslims have been killed by violent mobs while extremist groups have unlawfully sought the destruction of eleven mosques.

Tahir Andrabi further stated that perpetrators of crimes against Muslims often act with impunity, enabled by state patronage, and are seldom held to account. The Foreign Office Spokesperson urged India to address these serious and well-documented concerns within its own borders, ensure the protection of Muslims, Christians, and other communities in accordance with its constitutional and international obligations, and refrain from making unfounded and politically motivated statements about others.