Islamabad, 6 June 2022 (TDI): Indian Charge d’Affaires Suresh Kumar was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad to convey the Government of Pakistan’s explicit rejection and strong condemnation of the blasphemous remarks made by two senior officials of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regarding the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The move came after Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for the radical party BJP, and Naveen Jindal, a journalist-turned-politician, made insulting remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and his wife Aisha Siddiqa (R.A.), causing a wave of criticism in India and the Islamic world.
Pakistan Denounced Blasphemous Remarks
In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry today, “Pakistan asked the BJP leadership and the Indian government to clearly condemn the sacrilegious remarks of the BJP officials and make sure they are held accountable for undermining the dignity of the Holy Prophet.”
Indian Cd’A summoned to convey Pakistan’s rejection and strong condemnation of the derogatory remarks by BJP officials against Prophet Muhammad PBUH. BJP leadership and GOI must condemn the sacrilegious comments and hold those responsible to account. https://t.co/ozj2aOucTI
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) June 6, 2022
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged the international community, including the United Nations (UN) and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to take note of and halt “the dangerously rising ‘Hindutva’-inspired Islamophobia in India” and persuade the Indian government to stop systematic human rights violations against the country’s minorities.
The comments made by the BJP leaders were also criticised by President Dr. Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The president stated that the remarks had offended Muslims across the globe. “Under [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi’s Hindutva philosophy, all of India’s religious minorities are being persecuted and their religious freedoms are being trampled on.”
https://t.co/zAooXhj7wZ pic.twitter.com/GmPhyl4tVP
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) June 5, 2022
Prime Minister Shehbaz, meanwhile, tweeted, “Repeatedly stated that Modi’s India is trampling religious freedoms and persecuting Muslims.” India should be severely reprimanded internationally. ”
I condemn in strongest possible words hurtful comments of India’s BJP leader about our beloved Prophet (PBUH). Have said it repeatedly India under Modi is trampling religious freedoms & persecuting Muslims. World should take note & severely reprimand India. Our love for the >
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 5, 2022
The Indian diplomat was also told about Pakistan’s disapproval of the delay in the government’s punishments for the officials involved. They were deemed late and insufficient.
The reaction of other Muslim countries
Qatar and Kuwait also summoned the Indian ambassadors in their countries to present them with official protest notes expressing their disappointment at the incident and the rejection and condemnation of the controversial remarks.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also added its voice to the condemnation. “The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the recent insults issued by an official of the ruling party in India towards the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him.”
Indian response
In response, BJP national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party’s primary membership on Sunday for comments made during a recent television debate, according to BJP documents and media reports. The BJP’s Delhi media operation head, Naveen Kumar Jindal, was also expelled.
India’s Violations of Minority Rights and Islamophobia
Indian minorities have suffered greatly at the hands of the Hindu majority, and successive Indian governments have also failed miserably to protect their rights through their police and judiciary.
Islamophobia in India is a complicated, persistent, and deeply rooted issue. It affects the marginalized Muslim population in economically impoverished or politically unstable regions. Since the Modi regime took over, India’s secular national policy has been replaced by an extreme Hindutva mindset.
In this context, some major examples of the trampling of the minorities’ rights by Hindu majority Zealots in India are: the demolition of the historic Babri Mosque, open incidents of the lynching of the Muslims on cow rearing, attacking the Christians to force them to convert to Hinduism
Moreover, attacking the Sikhs’ holy Golden Temple in 1984, the killing of Delhi Muslims to crush anti CAA protests in February 2019, India’s state terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, and recently the ban on the Muslim hijab are other violations of minority rights.
In numerous Indian states, Muslims are subjected to systematic marginalization, and a well-orchestrated assault by radical Hindu mobs, with the full connivance and support of the security apparatus.
