Islamabad: Pakistan has condemned as ‘regressive and discriminatory’ India’s Citizenship Amendment Bill and called it a ‘malafide intent’ by New Delhi to ‘interfere’ in the affairs of neighbouring countries.
The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there, a little past midnight on Monday.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) in a statement issued post mid-night said: “We condemn the legislation as regressive and discriminatory, which is in violation of all relevant international conventions and norms, and a glaring attempt by India to interfere in the neighbouring countries with malafide intent”. It said that the law “is premised on a falsehood and is in complete violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants on elimination of all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief.”
“The Lok Sabha legislation is also in complete contravention of various bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India particularly the one concerning security and rights of minorities in the respective countries,” the statement said.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah while introducing the bill in Lok Sabha had made it clear that people belonging to any religion should not have any fear under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as he asserted that the bill will give relief to those minorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries. (PTI)
