Pakistan questions India's 'secular credentials' post Dadri lynching case

Pakistan has questioned India's "secular credentials" after the recent lynching of a 50-year-old by a mob for allegedly storing beef at his residence in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, last week.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said that a democratic country which claims to be secular, should guarantee the fundamental rights of minorities and take appropriate measures to ensure that they are able to live in accordance with their religious beliefs, The Dawn reported.

He also said that violence against Muslims in India, the second-largest exporter of beef in the world, "is beyond comprehension and a cause of concern for the Muslim Ummah".

The Foreign Office's statement came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for unity between Muslim and Hindu communities after the lynching case.

Khalilullah also reacted to the cancellation of a concert by Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali after Shiv Sena's film wing "Chitrapat Sena" said in a letter to the management of the Shanmughananda Hall that if it went ahead with the programme featuring the artist from Pakistan they will have to face the "anger of Shiv Sena and the patriotic people.

He said that they regretted that the event was not allowed to take place.