Pak PM slammed for remark against India

India on Wednesday categorically rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks that a big refugee crisis is looming in South Asia due to the steps taken by the Indian government, saying his "gratuitous comments" only reflects the "visceral and pathological prejudice" against the country.

Addressing the first Global Refugee Forum as a coconvener in Geneva, Khan on Tuesday raised the Kashmir issue and claimed that a big refugee crisis is looming in South Asia due to the steps taken by the Narendra Modi-led Indian government.

"We categorically and unequivocally reject the unwarranted and gratuitous comments made in this forum by the Prime Minister of Pakistan which only reflects visceral and pathological prejudice against India," said Rajiv K Chander, the Permanent Representative of India to UN in Geneva.

"It is another dismal attempt by Pakistan to interfere in the internal affairs of India; to present an alarmist situation of the region; and abuse international fora," Chander told the meeting, according to the transcript of his speech available on the website of the UNHCR.

He said Pakistan is a selfproclaimed champion of human rights that has shrunk the size of its own minority community by subjecting them to "draconian blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, blatant abuse and forced conversions."

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday once again rejected the allegations of persecution of its minorities and said India's claim that the population of Hindus in the Muslim-majority country has drastically declined was "incorrect".

"Pakistan categorically rejects, once again, the Indian Government and senior BJP leadership's baseless allegations of persecution of minorities in Pakistan and the factually incorrect claims that population of religious minorities in Pakistan has declined from 23% in 1947 to 3.7% in 2011," the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.