Imran Khan condemns Nankana Sahib incident, compares it to ‘anti-Muslim attacks’ in India

Drawing a comparison between the Nankana incident and the ongoing nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Khan said, “The major difference between the condemnable Nankana incident and the ongoing attacks across India on Muslims and other minorities is this: the former is against my vision and will find zero tolerance & protection from the government, including the police and judiciary.”

The major difference between the condemnable Nankana incident & the ongoing attacks across India on Muslims & other minorities is this: the former is against my vision & will find zero tolerance & protection from the govt incl police & judiciary;

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 5, 2020

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of “targetted attacks against the Muslims”, the Pakistan leader said, “In contrast, Modi’s RSS vision supports minorities oppression and the targeted attacks against Muslims are part of this agenda. RSS goons conducting public lynchings, Muslims being violated by mobs are all not only supported by the Modi government but Indian police leading anti-Muslim attacks.”

Islamabad has been quite critical of the contentious citizenship law which has triggered widespread protests across India and also claimed 26 lives till now. Of the 26 deaths, 19 were reported in Uttar Pradesh.

Read | After Nankana Sahib attack, brother of Pakistan’s first Sikh news anchor killed in Peshawar

Khan’s statement comes two days after a mob led by the family of a Muslim man, who had married a Sikh teenage girl, hurled stones at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, and threatened to convert it into a mosque.

Police said the family was protesting the arrest of their relatives for alleged forced conversion of the girl.

The crowd outside the gurdwara in Pakistan on Friday. (ANI)

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged Khan to “immediately intervene to ensure that the devotees stranded in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib are rescued and the historic Gurdwara is saved from the angry mob surrounding it”.

Calling the attack “despicable”, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked PM Modi to take up the matter with Imran Khan. “Mob Attack on Gurdwara Sri #NankanaSahib, birth place of Guru Nanak Dev ji, is a despicable act and I urge PM @narendramodi ji to take it up with Pak PM @ImranKhanPTI. We have to ensure safety of Sikhs in Pakistan and I trust that the govt will address the issue on priority,” he said in a tweet.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs said the Pakistan government must “take immediate steps”.