Sushma Swaraj said she sought details from the Indian envoy into the alleged kidnapping.
Highlights
- Two Hindu girls were forcibly converted to Islam in Sindh: Report
- Local Hindu community staged protests and demanded action: Report
- Sushma Swaraj asked Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad for a report
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj's tweet regarding the alleged abduction and conversion of two Hindu girls in Pakistan, has drawn a sharp response from its minister Fawad Hussain. The matter, Mr Hussain said, was an "internal issue" of Pakistan. Ms Swaraj immediately shot back that her tweet, asking the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad for a report, was making the Pakistan minister "jittery".
Last year, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken a swipe at India after actor Naseeruddin Shah's comment on mob violence over cow vigilantism. Mr Khan had said he would show India "how to treat minorities".
Over the last month, there has been a huge face-off between New Delhi and Islamabad over Jaish-e Mohammad suicide bombing in Jammu ad Kashmir's Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF personnel. Days later, Indian Air Force held air strikes on a Jaish-e Mohammad camp in Pakistan's Balakot, which was followed by an aerial dogfight.
Today, tagging a media report on the alleged abduction, Ms Swaraj tweeted: "I have asked Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on this. @IndiainPakistan. Two Hindu girls abducted on Holi eve in Pakistan's Sindh".
Fawad Hussain, the information minister in the government of Imran Khan, tweeted:
Ms Swaraj responded:
That drew another response from the Pakistan Minister:
According to a report in the Times of India, two Hindu girls were allegedly abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan's Sindh province on the eve of Holi. The report said the local Hindu community had staged protests and demanded action against the perpetrators.
India has repeatedly flagged the plight of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Hindu community.
In one of its key initiatives, the government has undertaken to provide citizenship to illegal migrants from the minority communities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have stayed in India for six years. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha, but has been stalled in the Rajya Sabha by the opposition.