‘India: Past, present and future’

Islamabad : Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has called upon the Muslim world to shed its dependence on the Western world and adopt a united stand on critical issues like Kashmir and Palestine in order to emerge as a respected global force.

"Now, some very vocal statements are coming from the Arab countries on social media and other channels regarding the treatment of Muslims in India and the Kashmir issue," she told an international webinar on 'India: Past, Present and Future - Perceptions of the Muslim World' organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) here.

The event was chaired by IPS executive president Khalid Rahman, moderated by IPS senior research fellow Syed Muhammad Ali and addressed by British House of Lords member Lord Nazir Ahmed, British Member of Parliament Khalid Mehmood, Member of Turkish Prime Minister’s Advisory Board for Human Rights Dr Hamit Ersoy, Vice President to Egyptian National Constitutional Committee Dr. Kamal Helbawi, Professor Dr Halil Tokar of Istanbul University Turkey and Professor Dr Farhan Mujahid Chak of Qatar University.

Lord Nazir Ahmed said India was no longer a secular country, whose political system was controlled by Hindutva extremist ideology that didn't provide equal opportunities to its minorities.

He appreciated the Arab countries for beginning to see the true extremist Indian reality, which was hidden under the façade of secular democracy for a long time. He said that India is using its intelligence agency RAW to destabilize Pakistan. British parliamentarian Khalid Mehmood called upon the Kashmiris to shed their mutual differences and forge their ranks worldwide to put greater pressure on world powers. He said the Indian government has been blatantly violating the Geneva Convention and urged Muslim countries to take the issue to International Criminal Court.