‘Systemic victimisation of minorities’: India slams Pakistan army chief’s ‘go to Iran’ remark to Shia community | India News
New Delhi: India on Friday slammed Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for his alleged comments asking Shias to “go to Iran”, calling it part of Islamabad’s “systematic persecution of minorities”.“Reacting to this during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have seen reports on this matter. Such comments are not isolated incidents but are part of Pakistan’s systematic victimization of minorities, including the Shia minority in that country. The shrinking numbers of minorities in Pakistan for decades, they have feared and reflected, reflect the persecution. Must be tolerated at the hands of the Pakistani state.”“I don’t want to elaborate on Pakistan’s abysmal record in protecting the human rights of Pakistan’s minorities, which is very well documented,” he added.The comments came amid heightened tensions following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli operation earlier this month, sparking outrage among Shiite communities across the Muslim world.In Pakistan, where the Shia are a minority, protests against the development turned violent, killing at least 25 people.Against this backdrop, Munir reportedly told Shia clerics that those who “love Iran so much” should “go to Iran” – a comment that drew sharp criticism from the community’s leaders, who described it as provocative and offensive.The reported comments came after Munir warned that violence would not be tolerated in Pakistan in response to developments in Iran.During the meeting, Shia cleric Muhammad Shifa Najafi pushed back against the comments and urged Munir not to blame the entire community for the actions of a few individuals.
