'Finger pointing': India rejects Pakistan's charges of attacks on minorities; hits back at its own 'abysmal record'

The exchange came against the backdrop of extreme strains in ties between the two countries, especially after the four-day conflict in May that was triggered by India’s targeting of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. India had launched attacks on terrorist bases in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack in April.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi expressed deep concern at what he described as the “persecution of minorities in India”, including “condemnable incidents of vandalism during Christmas” and “state-sponsored campaigns targeting Muslims”.

Responding to Andrabi’s remarks, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself.