ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Pervez Rashid expressed serious concerns over the rise of anti- Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiments in India.
In a statement issued on Monday, Rashid asserted that India is responsible for any kind of losses suffered by Muslims in India, adding that the Indian government must ensure safety of Muslims living in its country.
He, however, said that “elements creating misunderstanding between India and Pakistan should be discouraged”.
The information minister said that the harassment of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan and and PCB Governing Board's executive committee chairman Najam Sethi at the hands of Hindu extremist elements is condemnable, adding that “the incident shows rising anti-Pakistan sentiments in India”.
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Moreover, Foreign Office Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah on Monday said Islamabad has taken serious note of the increasing number of violent protests aimed at disrupting scheduled events in India involving Pakistani nationals.
The cancellation of the meeting of the PCB chairman with his counterpart in Mumbai, due to the protests by a Hindu extremist organisation, is the latest in a series of such incidents that have taken place recently.
“Effective measures are required to prevent continuous recurrence of such incidents in India,” Khalilullah asserted.
Politicians from various political parties also expressed serious concerns over the recent spate of anti-Pakistan incidents.
The chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, Siraj ul-Haq, declared the incident “very serious” and demanded of the government to summon the Indian High Commissioner to lodge protest over the incident.
“What sort of democracy is India, which is afraid of sportsmen,” Siraj questioned.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf lawmaker Asad Umer said we must end our “pleading stance” as far as cricket with India is concerned.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi also responded strongly and said extremists are destroying the image of India.
Earlier in the day, the headquarters of the Indian cricket board in Mumbai was attacked by activists from far-right political group Shiv Sena.
The act by the hardliner Hindu nationalist party led to cancellation of the meeting between Indian cricket officials and their Pakistani counterparts to revive cricketing ties between the two countries.
