
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 1
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sought to explain away the protests in front of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad as an attempt by the Pakistani authorities to exploit the death of 11 Pakistani Hindus in India.
Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office had summoned the Indian Acting High Commissioner on reports of 11 displaced Hindus from Pakistan having died in August after being fed a toxic substance.
Reacting to the demonstrations, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava alleged that they were staged by people who “claimed to be a part of the Hindu community” and was “exploited” by the Pakistani authorities to further its own anti-India propaganda.
It was the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety and security of the Indian High Commission and its personnel, he added.
Pakistan Hindu Council president and a parliamentarian from Sindh, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who led the demonstration, has demanded that India provide access for a probe team from Pakistan.