FO strongly condemns Indian Hindutva leaders' call for genocide of Muslims

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday strongly condemned India's inaction over Hindutva leaders' calls for Muslim genocide in the country.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said it was highly reprehensible that Hindu Raksha Sena’s Prabodhanand Giri and other Hindutva figures who called for ethnic cleansing of Muslims have neither expressed any regret nor has the Indian government condemned or taken any action against them so far.

"The violent hate speeches were made during the “Dharma Sansad” held at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, from December 17-19, 2021," the statement said.

To express Pakistan's serious concerns over the calls for Muslim genocide, the Indian Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

The Foreign Office told the Indian envoy that the hate speeches have been viewed with grave concern by civil society and the cross-section of the people of Pakistan and around the world.

Regrettably, the toxic narrative against minorities, particularly Muslims, and their persecution understate patronage has become a norm under the current Hindutva-driven BJP-RSS combined government in India, the Foreign Office said.

The Indian side was reminded that such incitement to violence by Hindutva figures including the ruling party’s elected members also preceded the anti-Muslim riots in New Delhi in February 2020.

"The continued grave violations of human rights of minorities, especially Muslims and their places of worship, anti-Muslim legislation by the Union Government of India and several BJP-ruled states, and continued incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts by Hindutva groups with complete impunity and often under state patronage highlight the worsening trend of Islamophobia and present a grim picture about the fate of Muslims in India," the statement said.

Pakistan called on the international community including the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and relevant human rights organisations to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations against minorities and take immediate measures to save them from impending genocide, the statement said.

"India is expected to investigate these hate speeches and incidents of widespread violence against minorities, particularly Muslims and their houses of worship, and take measures to stop such incidents from recurring in future," the statement said.