Those who can't take care of their minorities shouldn't lecture us: Centre tells Pakistan

Slamming Pakistan over the vandalism of Gurdwara Nankana Sahib near Lahore recently and the killing of a Sikh youth there, the Centre on Thursday said that a country which cannot take care of its minorities should not tell others how to do it.

"A country that cannot take care of its minorities should not tell other countries how to do it," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said while referring to the incidents.

He further added that the incidents are a mirror for them. "The incident at Nankana Sahib and the killing of the Sikh man are a mirror for them. It is a mirror for those who lecture others," Kumar said.

It may be recalled that last week, an angry group of local residents pelted stones at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib - the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan. The group was led by the family of a boy who had allegedly abducted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, daughter of gurdwara's pathi. Two days after the attack on Gurdwara, a 25-year old Sikh youth was found murdered in Peshawar by 'unknown' gunmen.

The MEA also blasted the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan for his alleged remarks on protests in India, saying the politicians in the neighbouring country are habitual of neglecting their own job and comment on things happening in India and other countries.

"They should look within their country, their minorities, against whom atrocities are being committed. They should take care of them, give justice to them," MEA said.

Commenting on the situation after the killing of top Iranian commander in a US airstrike and Tehran retaliating to it by attacking the US airbases in Iraq, the MEA official said, "We're closely monitoring the situation. Peace, security and stability in the region are of utmost importance to us. We would like the situation to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We are talking to several stakeholders. The EAM has spoken to players in the region.