Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has condemned hate speech against Muslims by Hindu nationalist leaders in India, after right-wing leader Yati Narsinghanand organised an event widely described as anti-Muslim and featuring “hate speech” in Haridwar, India. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Islamabad went on to summon the Indian Charge d’ Affaires.
According to the Foreign Office,
“It was impressed upon the government of India that it was highly reprehensible that the Hindu Raksha Sena’s Prabodhanand Giri, and other Hindutva figures who called for ethnic cleansing, have neither expressed any regret nor the Indian government has condemned or taken any action against them so far.”
“Regrettably, the toxic narrative against minorities, particularly Muslims, and their persecution under state patronage has become a norm under the current Hindutva-driven BJP-RSS combine government in India,” a FO spokesperson said.
The commentary from the FO drew links between violence against minorities in India and rhetoric coming from members of the Hindutva right-wing groups, which now hold great influence in the BJP government. The FO expressed Pakistan’s official view, calling upon the world community “to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations against minorities, particularly Muslims and take immediate measures to save them from impending genocide.”
The FO statement ended by noting:
“Pakistan also urged India to ensure the safety, security and well-being of its minorities including protection of their religious places and way of life.”
A number of prominent figures associated with Hindu nationalist movements attended Yati Narsinghanand’s event at Haridwar, where calls for direct violence against Muslims were made. Concluding on the 19th of December, this comes at a time of escalating rhetoric against India’s religious minorities.
