India, Dec. 29 -- India on Monday rejected Pakistan's criticism of incidents involving the country's Christian and Muslim minorities and instead highlighted Islamabad's "abysmal record" of dealing with the victimisation of minority communities.

The exchange came against the backdrop of extreme strains in ties between the two countries, especially after the four-day conflict in May that was triggered by India's targeting of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. India had launched attacks on terrorist bases in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack in April.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi expressed deep concern at what he described as the "persecution of minorities in India", including "conde...