‘India tracks persecution of Hindus in Pak, neighbour with fanatical mindset’: Jaishankar
Much of Jaishankar’s criticism was directed at Pakistan, where he said 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu minority were reported in February alone
NEW DELHI: India closely tracks the persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, which is a neighbour with a “fanatical, bigoted mindset”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Much of the foreign minister’s criticism was directed at Pakistan, where he said 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu minority were reported in February alone. In Bangladesh, he said, there 72 instances of attacks on minorities in 2025. Jaishankar made the remarks while responding to supplementary questions from lawmakers during Question Hour.
India tracks the treatment of minorities in Pakistan “very closely” and has taken up this issue at international forums such as UN agencies but New Delhi cannot change the “fanatical” mindset of the neighbouring country, he said.
Providing details of the 10 cases of atrocities against Hindus in Pakistan in February, Jaishankar said seven of these related to abduction and forced conversion, two cases related to abduction, and one case was related to “police action” against students celebrating Holi.
There were three instances of atrocities against Pakistan’s Sikh minority. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked, and in another, a Sikh family was threatened because of the reopening of an old gurdwara. The third case involved the abduction and conversion of a woman from the Sikh community, he said.
There were two other cases involving the Ahmadiyya minority – one related to the sealing of a mosque and other to the desecration of 40 graves. In yet another case, a Christian person who was reportedly of unstable mind was charged with blasphemy, Jaishankar said.
“We track it very, very closely, and we take it up...at the international level also,” he said, noting that India’s representative to the UN Human Rights Council had in February pointed out Pakistan is a country where human rights abuses and the persecution of minorities constitute state policy.
Pakistan “brazenly harbours UN-sanctioned terrorists” and the government in Islamabad should focus on actual governance and providing justice to its own people, Jaishankar said.
Responding to a query from a lawmaker on whether India plans any “tough action” against Pakistan on the lines of that taken by former prime minister Indira Gandhi, Jaishankar said: “We are tracking the treatment of minorities, we are making our position very well known, we are taking it up at the international level, but we as a government and a country cannot change the mindset of a neighbour, which is a fanatical, bigoted mindset.”
He added, “Even Indira Gandhi could not do it.” However, his reply triggered protests from Congress lawmakers.
In reply to another supplementary question on the status of minorities in Bangladesh, Jaishankar replied, “Like in Pakistan, we track the welfare and well-being of minorities in Bangladesh as well...In 2024, we’ve had altogether 2,400 incidents relating to attacks on minorities and in 2025, 72 incidents.”
He added, “I have taken it up with my counterpart. The foreign secretary took it up when he visited Bangladesh. This continues to be a matter of concern for the government of India.”
Since the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina and the formation of a caretaker administration led by Muhammad Yunus last August, the Indian side has repeatedly raised the issue of the targeting of Bangladesh’s minority communities. The Bangladeshi side has described reports of the persecution of minorities as “exaggerated” and said the interim government is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens.
