09-Dec; India has asked Pakistan to take immediate measures to expeditiously bring the perpetrators of persecutors of minority groups in that country to justice. There have been reports of instances of vandalism and desecration of places of religious worship belonging to minority communities in Pakistan. These include vandalism of Gurudwara Nankana Sahib and Gurudwara Shri Guru in Sindh, statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Shiv Mandir in Mirpur Mathelo and Shir Mata Mandir in Karachi, and theft of gold idol in Sant Baba Jairamdas Samadhi Ashram in Sindh.In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan said, India has raised all such cases with Pakistan and called upon it to take steps to protect and promote the safety, security, and well-being of its minority communities and their places of worship.He also informed that New Delhi has secured the release and repatriation of more than two thousand 700 Indian prisoners from Pakistan custody since 2014. The country has also sought early consular access and release and repatriation of the remaining Indian in Pakistan custody. Muraleedharan said the government attaches high importance to the issue of Indian prisoners held in Pakistan custody and all possible assistance is extended to the fishermen for their early release.
