Mohammad Kaif destroys Imran Khan’s rant on India’s ‘intolerance’

On Dec 22, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan ranted against PM Modi and India. The cricketer turned politician said that he will show the Narendra Modi government “How to treat minorities”, amid ongoing controversy over Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah’s remarks over intolerance in India.

His comments on India’s tolerance met befitting responses as Naseeruddin Shah himself took on Imran Khan asking him to mind his own business. Shah said, “I think Mr Khan should be walking the talk in his own country instead of commenting on issues that don’t concern him. We have been a democracy for 70 years and we know how to look after ourselves,” Shah told the newspaper Sunday Express.”

The reply from Indian side did not stop here as former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif taking a jibe at Imran Khan’s act of teaching India the lesson of tolerance, tweeted, “There were around 20% minorities at the time of Partition in Pakistan, less than 2% remain now. On the other hand minority population has grown significantly in India since Independence. Pakistan is the last country that should be lecturing any country on how to treat minorities.”

Even the leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi took on Imran Khan and reminded him of the constitutional restraints that Pakistan has in offering when it comes to providing the status of equality to minorities. Owaisi tweeted, “According to the Pakistani Constitution, only a Muslim is qualified to be President. India has seen multiple Presidents from oppressed communities. It’s high time Khan sahab learns something from us about inclusive politics & minority rights.”

Imran while addressing an event directed at highlighting the 100-day achievements of the Punjab government in Lahore, maintained that his government is taking steps to make sure that religious minorities in Pakistan get their due rights, carrying forward Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s vision of ‘tolerance’.

Imran Khan said that his government is taking steps to ensure that the minorities feel safe, protected and have equal rights in his ‘New Pakistan’. He said, “We will show the Modi government how to treat minorities… Even in India, people are saying that minorities are not being treated as equal citizens.”

Moreover, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asked Imran whether he can name any single Pakistani artiste who has come from a minority community and been liked as much as these actors are in India.

Pakistan is nothing less than hell for its minority Hindu population. Every year, thousands of Hindus flee Pakistan to avoid persecution. Thousands of Hindu girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, and later, they are forcibly compelled to marry Muslim men. In Pakistan, the Hindus and other minorities face discrimination in all walks of life, be it schooling, employment or sports. Hindu places of worship are targeted and destroyed. 

When it comes to treating minorities like humans, Pakistan has a long way to go. Imran Khan instead of teaching India how to treat minorities should take a leaf out of India’s book and treat minorities with equality and dignity. Minorities in India enjoy maximum benefits, maximum privileges, concessions, and subsidies. There is a separate ministry that especially looks after the minority interests. Scholarship and financial assistance are given for education and weddings for minorities respectively. People coming from minority community went on to become President and Chief justice of India. In the incumbent Modi government, there are many cabinet ministers who hail from the minority community. Pakistan has a lot to learn from India as far as tolerance is concerned. Imran Khan needs serious schooling on how to treat its minorities and not PM Modi.