Pakistan summons Indian envoy to protest 'baseless allegations against Sikh community'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires Tuesday to protest against  "motivated and mischievous allegations" by New Delhi on a disputed that occurred at Nankana Sahib. 

On Friday, dozens of demonstrators had protested over alleged unjust treatment of police in a case involving the marriage of a young couple, which was portrayed as a communal issue by the Indian media.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA),  Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri summoned the Indian envoy to convey Pakistan's strong rejection of Indian allegations of “attack”, “vandalism” and “desecration” of the holy  Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. 

"The DG (SA&SAARC) underscored that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all its citizens and the Government is committed to protecting the rights of minorities, with zero-tolerance against any discrimination," read the statement. 

Pakistan said the motivated reports by India including one about the 'target killing' of a Sikh youth in Peshawar were false. Mr Chaudhri urged India to stop pointing fingers at Pakistan and accused New Delhi of attempting to use the allegations to hide the atrocities it was committing in occupied Kashmir. 

He urged India to ensure "repeated instances of desecration, hate crimes and mob lynchings" do not take place against minorities and their places of worship. 

Prime Minister Imran Khan had condemned the incident and demanded a report on the matter. 

The prime minister, in a series of tweets, said that the Nankana incident was “against his vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary”.

“The ongoing attacks across India on Muslims and other minorities is this: the former is against my vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary,” PM Imran tweeted.

The main culprit accused of orchestrating the demonstration near the Sikh holy site in the small town of Nankana Sahib in Punjab was arrested late on Sunday for his role in the affair, according to a representative of the provincial government.