Pakistan targeting places of worship deliberately: MEA's Vikram Misri

New Delhi: Pakistan has targeted places of worship in India with a particular design, and it is a new low even for the country, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.

"The Gurudwara in Poonch, in particular, was attacked by Pakistan, and some local members of the Sikh community lost their lives in this incident... A disinformation is coming from Pakistan of India targeting the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara through a drone attack. This is again a lie and a part of Pakistan's disinformation campaign," Misri said at a media briefing.

Instead of owning up to its actions, Pakistan made the "preposterous and outrageous claims" that it is the Indian military that is targeting its own cities like Amritsar and trying to blame Islamabad, Misri said.


"Pakistan is trying desperately to impart a communal hue to the situation with an intention to create a communal discord...," he said.

Convent schools were also targeted by Pakistani forces.

During heavy shelling across the Line of Control in the early hours of May 7, a shell fired from Pakistan landed just behind the Christ School, run by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, a congregation in Poonch. Tragically, the shell hit the home of two students, killing both and severely injuring their parents, Misri informed.

Another Pakistani shell struck a Christian Convent of Nuns belonging to the congregation of the Mother of Carmel, damaging water tanks and destroying solar panel infrastructure. Several priests, nuns, school staff and local residents took refuge in an underground hall beneath the Christ School during the shelling.

Misri said the school was closed during the time, or more losses would have occurred.

In response to a question on India's military response in Bahawalpur-also connected with the 2002 murder of journalist Daniel Pearl-Misri said, "Bahawalpur is the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group that is proscribed by the United Nations. Its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, is a proscribed individual."

"You brought up the connection with the tragic death, or killing of Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal. The Jaish-e-Mohammad was in some way directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Daniel Pearl. But the real connection is through Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-Pakistani jihadi who was held in India, but was finally released in 2000. He was the person who lured Daniel Pearl to his...eventually leading to his murder. So these are all obviously connected figures, connected individuals, connected institutions. And the attack on Bahawalpur, on that facility of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Bahawalpur is, I would imagine, a fitting part of this unfortunate incident."

In view of the current security scenario, services of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor have been suspended till further directions, Misri said.