By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government led by Hindu revivalist parties like the RSS and -BJP is busy in advancing the “Hindutva” agenda at a time when entire world is grappling with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
” The commencement of construction of a Mandir (Hindu temple) at the site of the historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya is another step in this direction and the Government and people of Pakistan condemn it in the strongest terms,” spokesperson of Pakistan Foreign Office Aisha Farooqui said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hindu zealots had razed the historic 16th century mosque in Indian town of Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
Foreign Office spokesperson said that Mandir’s construction is a sequel to the controversial decision given by the Indian Supreme Court on 9 November 2019, which completely failed to uphold the demands of justice.
“Indian The Supreme Court’s verdict shredded the veneer of so-called ‘secularism’ of India by making clear that the minorities are not safe in India and that they have to fear for their lives, beliefs and places of worship,” Aisha Farooqui said.
The developments relating to the Babri Masjid, the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), initiation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, and the targeted killings of Muslims in Delhi in February 2020 are vivid illustrations of how Muslims in India are being marginalized, dispossessed, demonized and subjected to senseless violence, she added.
“The frequent mob lynchings by cow vigilantes and sinister schemes like ‘ghar wapsi’, ‘love jihad’ and ‘Corona jihad’ are part of this mindset. The right-wing “Hindutva” agenda, which appears to have permeated the state institutions as well, is moving fast towards turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra,” she said.
As Pakistan has been sensitizing the world community, India under the RSS-BJP sway is driven by the toxic mix of an extremist ideology and hegemonic ambitions. The result is a growing threat to the safety and well-being of minorities in India and to peace and security in the region and beyond, the statement added.
The foreign office spokesperson said that The rising tide of religious bigotry in India is well-documented by international human rights organizations, regularly highlighted by the international media, and raised in a number of world Parliaments.
She called upon the the international community to hold India to account for the continuous violations of human rights of minorities and urge the Indian Government to take immediate steps to ensure that the rights of all minorities are fully protected and promoted as per India’s obligations under international instruments to which it is a party.
