Pakistan expressed a deep concern for the growing number of Islamophobic incidents throughout India on Saturday and warned that the deliberate incitement of religious hatred for political or ideological ends violates the international obligations of human rights of India.
In a statement that responds to media consultations, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shafqat Ali Khan, said that Pakistan strongly condemned the orientation of Muslims through hate discourse, discriminatory policies and acts of violence, were carried out with the complicity or silence of the Indian authorities.
“Pakistan asks the Indian government to defend the rights and security of all its citizens, regardless of faith,” said the spokesman, warning that the deliberate incitement of religious hatred for political or ideological purposes was violating the international obligations of Human Rights of India.
Khan added that such actions, at a time when restriction and reconciliation are more necessary, the perspectives of community harmony and regional stability undermine.
Read more: The house of the demolished Indian Muslim on the song of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ during the Cricket party
The statement is produced in the middle of high tensions between the two neighbors with nuclear weapons after the accusations of New Delhi, with levels without evidence, recruiting Islamabad from the attack of the pahalgama in Jammu and Kashmir occupied by the Indians. The Pakistani government has strongly rejected accusations.
Human Rights Organizations, including the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), have registered at least 21 incidents of anti-Muslim violence in India in the days after attack. These include physical assaults on Muslims from Kashmir, hate speeches in public manifestations and reported calling to the expulsion of Muslim students from shelters.
The situation has been further inflamed by the emergence of incendiary music aligned with the Hindutva ideology. The songs widely disseminated through platforms such as YouTube and WhatsApp have been accused of inciting hatred against Muslims. One of those songs, Pehle Dharam Pocha (“asked about religion first.” He has obtained more than 140,000 visits in less than a week.
Other tracks such as Ab Ek Nahi Flee Toh Kat Jaaoge (“If you don’t go now you will be sacrificed”) and Jaago Hindu Jaago (“Wake up, Hindus”) have asked Hindus to identify “traitors within the country”, a phrase widely seen as a nervous reference to Muslims.
Parallel to the online hatred campaign, Gujarat authorities demolished around 2,000 huts, which the authorities said they were illegally occupied by undocumented migrants from Bangladesh. However, activists argue that demolitions are part of a broader pattern of systemic discrimination aimed at portraying Indian Muslims such as “strangers” and push them to the margins of society.
Read too: Pakistan condemns Gujarat’s speech as a ‘reckless provocation’
Demolitions have displaced thousands, worsening the precarious living conditions of affected families and contributing to a growing sense of insecurity within the community.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which looks good as closely aligned with the Hindu nationalist groups, has been growing due to its inability to curb hate discourse and protect minority communities.
Critics argue that the silence of the State, and in some cases active participation, in antimuse actions has emboldened extremist elements.
