— At least five Arab nations, Afghanistan have lodged official protests
— Calls for a boycott of Indian goods on social media in oil-rich sheikhdoms
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: The Foreign Office on Monday summoned Suresh Kumar, India’s chargé d’affaires in Islamabad, and conveyed Pakistan’s condemnation in “strongest possible terms” of blasphemous remarks two top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders made on a TV debate and on Twitter.
“Pakistan once again calls on the international community to take immediate cognizance of the grievously aggravating situation of Islamophobia in India,” a separate Foreign Office statement said.
The move came after Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for the radical party ruling India since 2014, and Naveen Jindal, a journalist-turned-politician, made speculative remarks that were seen as insulting Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and his wife Aisha Siddiqa (R.A.), triggering a wave of condemnation at home and from the Islamic world.
The controversial remarks follow increasing violence targeting India’s Muslim minority carried out by Hindu nationalists who have been emboldened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regular silence about such attacks since he was first elected in 2014.
Responding to the events, Pakistan said the comments were totally unacceptable and not only deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan but also of Muslims across the world.
Kumar was told Pakistan deplored the belated and perfunctory disciplinary actions taken by the government in New Delhi against these politicians which cannot assuage the pain caused to the Muslims.
🔊: PR NO. 2️⃣6️⃣6️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣
Pakistan makes strong demarche to the Indian Charge d’ Affaires in Islamabad condemning derogatory remarks made by two senior officials of BJP.
🔗⬇️https://t.co/OMHTJJCqCS pic.twitter.com/AmEsusNzpo
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 6, 2022
Modi’s party took no action against them until Sunday when a sudden chorus of diplomatic outrage began with Qatar and Kuwait summoning their Indian ambassadors to protest.
The BJP suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal and issued a rare statement saying it “strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities,” a move that was welcomed by Qatar and Kuwait.
Jindal said on Twitter he had questioned some comments made against Hindu gods. “I only questioned them but that does not mean I am against any religion.”
‘ALARMING RISE’ IN COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
The Foreign Office statement said Pakistan was deeply concerned at the alarming rise in communal violence and hatred against the Muslims in India.
“Muslims are being systematically stigmatized, marginalized and subjected to a well-orchestrated onslaught from radical Hindu mobs with full connivance and support of the security apparatus across various states in India.
The growing mainstreaming of the reprehensible anti-Muslim sentiment and the increasing attempts at depriving the Muslims of their centuries-old places of worship [by] citing frivolous historical claims, are nothing but the obvious outcomes of the deep-seated Islamophobia in the Indian society.”
The statement added Pakistan strongly urges India to unequivocally condemn the sacrilegious comments of the BJP leaders and ensure they are held accountable through decisive and demonstrable action against them for attacking the dignity of the prophet.
“The government of India is also reminded of its obligations under international law to take immediate steps to protect its minorities from human rights violations, ensure their safety, security and well-being and allow them to profess and practice their faiths in peace,” it said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan also called on the international community, including the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), especially their rights machinery, to take cognisance of and stop the dangerously rising Hindutva inspired Islamophobia in India, and prevail on New Delhi to prevent the systematic rights violations against minorities in the country.
COORDINATED RESPONSE FROM MUSLIM WORLD
India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim countries after Qatar, Kuwait and Iran summoned its envoys on Sunday over the ugly episode.
In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Indian envoy to voice “disappointment of Qatar and its total rejection and condemnation to the controversial remarks made by an official in the ruling party in India against Prophet Muhammad.”
According to the statement, Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi handed a note to the Indian envoy asserting that “these insulting remarks would lead to incitement of religious hatred, and offend more than two billion Muslims around the world.”
Doha is expecting “a public apology and immediate condemnation of these remarks,” from the Indian government, it added.
For its part, the Indian Embassy in Doha said on Twitter that during the meeting, the ambassador conveyed that a “strong action has already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks.”
It went on to note that “we should work together against such mischievous elements who aim to undercut the strength of our bilateral ties.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s South Asia department also said that the Indian ambassador in Tehran was summoned to register Iran’s protest over the insulting remarks.
Earlier, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Indian ambassador and handed over a memorandum of protest, expressing “categorical rejection and denunciation” of the insulting comments against Prophet Mohammad.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry also released a statement, condemning the insulting remarks as “unacceptable.”
#Statement | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the #Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (#BJP), insulting the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. pic.twitter.com/VLQwdXuPuq
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) June 5, 2022
The OIC and the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) also condemned derogatory remarks.
— With input from AP, Anadolu Agency
