External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking in Lok Sabha on Friday, highlighted incidents involving attack on minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The minister said New Delhi is tracking "very closely" the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and making its position "well known", but the country cannot change the "fanatical and bigoted mindset" of a neighbour.
Replying to a supplementary query during the Question Hour, S Jaishankar pointed to 10 incidents involving attacks on Hindus in Pakistan in February.
Seven of these incidents are related to abduction and forced conversion, two other cases linked to abduction, and one to "police action" against students celebrating Holi, S Jaishankar said.
The external affairs minister said India also takes up such cases at the international level.
Responding to another supplementary question, he said, "Like in Pakistan, we track the welfare and well-being of minorities in Bangladesh as well ... In 2024, we had 2,400 incidents relating to attacks on minorities and in 2025, 72 incidents ... I have taken it up with my counterpart there. The foreign secretary also took it up when he visited Bangladesh. This continues to be a matter of concern for our government." BJP's Nishikant Dubey pointed out that there had been four agreements between India and Pakistan, including the Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950 to ensure protection of minorities, and sought to know whether these agreements need to be redone, and if India will raise the matter at the United Nations forum.
Responding to this, S Jaishankar said, "We have responded to the situation of minorities in different ways. Many of the agreements that the honourable member has referred to, do not apply anymore in reality, because there were commitments made by Pakistan for protection of its minorities, which it did not live up to".
"So, while we are raising our voice and exposing the attacks on minorities, if there are minorities who come to India, we take a sympathetic view of them. We have given them long-term visas. From 2014, we have granted 50,019 visas for minorities who came from Pakistan," he said.
On Pakistan, the external affairs minister informed the House that there were also three cases related to atrocities against members of the Sikh community. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked; in another, a Sikh family was threatened for reopening an old Gurdwara, and yet another case involved the abduction and conversion of a girl from the Sikh community, he said.
The minister added that two other cases involved members of the Ahmediya community, and another case in which a Christian person of unstable mind was charged with blasphemy.
Responding to a query on whether India plans "tough action" on the lines of earlier prime minister Indira Gandhi's stance against Pakistan, S Jaishankar said New Delhi is making its position "well known" but "we as a government and a country cannot change the fanatical and bigoted mindset of a neighbour." "Even Indira Gandhi could not do it," he observed.
In a written response to Lok Sabha the same day, the external affairs minister said the Government of India has regularly come across "reports of atrocities" committed against members of the minority communities in Pakistan.
He was asked whether the government was aware of the "heinous crimes" being committed continuously against the minority communities in Pakistan.
"The Government of India has regularly come across reports of atrocities committed against the minority communities in Pakistan, including various incidents of intimidation, persecution, killing, abduction, forced conversions and forced marriages," S Jaishankar said.
He was also asked if the government has taken, or proposes to take, any steps at international level to provide security to the minority communities in Pakistan and to protect their religious places.
The minister said India has on several occasions highlighted the condition of minorities and "violation of their human rights in Pakistan" at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
"It is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to discharge its constitutional obligations towards its citizens, including those from the minority communities. Based on the reports of atrocities against minorities in Pakistan, the Government of India has, from time to time, taken up the matter with the Government of Pakistan and asked it to take steps to protect and promote the safety, security and the well-being of its minority communities," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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