The response came after India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it had noted with “deep concern” reports of the alleged destruction of the historic Hindu temple in Adda Siraj, Narowal district.
“We categorically reject the false and politically motivated assertions made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs regarding the Hindu temple at Adda Siraj, Narowal,” Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said.
Khan said the temple’s structure was damaged on July 21 due to torrential rains, rejecting what he described as “false propaganda” being spread by India.
He said local authorities had already surveyed the damage caused by the rains and initiated measures to restore the building.
The spokesperson accused India of distorting facts and said such claims could not distract from what Pakistan described as India’s record of persecution of minorities and attacks on their places of worship.
“The world is well aware of the weaponisation of Hindutva ideology against minorities,” Khan said, calling on the international community to hold the Indian leadership accountable for what he described as the persecution of Muslim, Sikh and Christian communities.
The FO response comes amid broader tensions over the treatment of religious minorities in India. The United Nations and human rights organisations have raised concerns in recent years over issues including hate speech, religion-based citizenship policies, demolition of Muslim-owned properties and restrictions affecting religious freedoms.
Pakistan also criticised what it described as a wider Hindutva campaign targeting medieval mosques and Islamic-era monuments in India, where campaigners have claimed that some sites were built over Hindu temples.
Such claims have gained prominence since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
The FO also referred to restrictions imposed in India this year concerning animal slaughter ahead of Eid-ul-Adha and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s directive that Eid prayers be offered only at designated traditional locations, with no permission for prayers on roads.
