ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government sacked a provincial minister on Tuesday for making offensive comments about Hindus, amid easing tensions with India after the two nuclear-armed neighbors came to the brink of war last month.
Punjab provincial Information Minister Fayyaz Chohan referred on Monday to Hindus, who number more than four million in Muslim-majority Pakistan, as “cow urine drinkers” in a highly charged speech against India.
The statement was immediately condemned on social media and by senior members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as hurtful to the country’s Hindu minority.
Chohan later said his comments were aimed at India and not Pakistani Hindus.
The federal government “has removed Fayyaz Chohan from the post of Punjab Information Minister following derogatory remarks about the Hindu community,” the PTI said on Twitter.
“Bashing someone’s faith should not be a part of any narrative.”
Pakistani politicians in the past have not been penalized for making offensive statements about minority communities. Chohan himself has previously been criticized for making derogatory statements about other minorities and about women.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated dramatically last month, after an Indian air strike on what it said was a militant group that had carried out a suicide attack in the Pulwama district of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14.
The situation began improving after Pakistan last week released an Indian pilot who had been shot down in an aerial dog fight, in what Islamabad called a “goodwill gesture.”
Pakistan sacks provincial minister for anti-Hindu comments
Pakistan sacks provincial minister for anti-Hindu comments
- Punjab provincial Information Minister Fayyaz Chohan sacked for offensive comments
- Chohan later said comments were aimed at India and not Pakistani Hindus
China congratulates Tanzania for ‘successful conduct’ of elections
- “China reiterated its full confidence in Tanzania’s leadership and institutions to manage internal affairs independently,” they added
DAR ES SALAM: China’s top diplomat has warned against foreign interference in Tanzania as he ended a visit where he avoided any mention of the political violence that has soured the East African country’s relations with the West.
Wang Yi is the first foreign minister to pay an official visit to Tanzania since the bloody crackdown on election protesters late last year.
The Tanzanian opposition says at least 2,000 people were killed by security forces following the Oct. 29 legislative and presidential elections which international observers deemed fraudulent.
China, which has invested heavily in Tanzania in recent years, did not comment on the crackdown that sparked a wave of global criticism.
In a statement shared after the visit, Tanzanian authorities said Wang had congratulated the country for the “successful conduct” of the elections.
“China reiterated its full confidence in Tanzania’s leadership and institutions to manage internal affairs independently,” they added.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said Beijing “opposes any external force interfering in Tanzania’s internal affairs” and stressed its support for the country’s “national sovereignty and security.”
Wang also met Tanzanian leader Samia Suluhu Hassan, who retained the presidency last year with 98 percent of the vote.
He “reaffirmed China’s firm support for Tanzania” during the meeting, a Tanzanian presidency statement said.
The statement pledged to strengthen cooperation and noted a rise in trade between the two countries over the last five years, “thanks to China’s policy of opening its markets to Africa.”
China has beefed up its investments in the country’s low-tax special economic zones, where 343 Chinese-funded projects worth $3.1 billion were registered in 2025 alone, according to the Tanzanian Foreign Ministry. After Tanzania, Wang is expected to continue his African tour in Lesotho.
