Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, 25 December, took to Twitter to allege the persecution of minorities in India and said that “unlike India”, he would ensure that Hindus and Christians are treated equally in his Muslim-majority notion.
He even referred to Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s “struggle” to fight for a separate state for Pakistan, saying that Jinnah had realised before partition, that Hindus would not “be treated as equal citizens by the Hindu majority.”
Khan had made similar statements in response to the controversy that was stirred after veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah had, in reference to the Bulandshahr lynching, said that India was a country where a cow’s life was more protected than a police officer’s.
“We will show the Modi government how to treat minorities... Even in India, people are saying that minorities are not being treated as equal citizens,” Khan said referring to Shah’s statement.
India Knows to Look After Itself: Shah to Khan
Naseeruddin Shah, however, told Imran Khan that the latter should focus on issues in his own country, before meddling into India’s affairs.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Naseeruddin Shah commented that Khan should “walk the talk in his own country.”
“I think Mr Khan should be walking the talk in his own country instead of commenting on issues that don’t concern him. We have been a democracy for 70 years and we know how to look after ourselves,” said Shah to the newspaper.
Mohammad Kaif, Others Lash Out at Khan
Pakistan PM’s comment drew flak from across India.
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif lashed out at Khan, questioning how minorities were really treated in Pakistan., adding that it was the last country to lecture others about minorities, India Today reported.
Political leaders also slammed Khan for his ‘lessons’ on how to treat minorities.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh took to Twitter to slam Khan and said that India doesn’t need lessons from a “terrorist beggar” like Pakistan.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi also slammed Khan and said that Pakistan’s Constitution doesn’t even allow a non-Hindu to become a President.
Minorities Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Pakistan is "a land of atrocities against minorities" who have been "persecuted" there since its birth in 1947, DNA reported. Naqvi also cited the examples of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan and said that Pakistan did not have a single successful artist from the minority communities.
“Can Imran Khan name a single Pakistani artiste who has come from a minority community and been liked as much as these actors are in India," Naqvi said, as quoted by DNA.
Member of Parliament Rakesh Sinha called it a case of “pot calling a kettle black.”
Senior journalist Vir Sanghvi took to Twitter to say that India won’t be lectured by somebody who “loves the Taliban”.
What Sparked the Controversy
In a video interview with Karwan-e-Mohabbat India, the veteran actor said the death of a cow was being given more importance than the killing of a policeman in India.
He said the "poison has already spread" and it will be now difficult to contain it.
"It will be very difficult to capture this djinn back into the bottle again. There is complete impunity for those who take law into their own hands...I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer. It worries me that I don't see the situation improving anytime soon," Shah added.
The Pakistani premier said if justice is not given to the weak then it will only lead to uprising.
Giving an example, he said, “The people of East Pakistan were not given their rights which was the main reason behind the creation of Bangladesh.”
On 3 December, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a student, Sumit Kumar, were killed in mob violence in Bulandshahr after cow carcasses were found strewn around.
The main accused in the case is a local Bajrang Dal leader, Yogesh Raj.
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