Pakistan denounces attacks on Muslims in India during Hindu festivals

• Pakistan condemns recent violence against Muslims by Hindutva extremists in India.
• There are videos of Muslim boys, tied to poles, being beaten by the RSS activists. 
• FO also condemns demolishing of houses of Muslim families in Madhya Pradesh.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned the latest incidents of violence and hostility perpetrated by the Hindutva extremists against Muslims in India during the recent Hindu festivals of Navratri and Dussehra. 

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said this is yet another manifestation of the 'saffron terror' that has deeply permeated Indian society.

He said the video circulating on social media, showing violence against Muslim boys tied to poles and beaten ruthlessly by the RSS zealots on allegation of pelting stones at a festival site, is horrific.

The FO spokesperson said equally disturbing is the razing of houses belonging to Muslim families in Madhya Pradesh, also on the baseless allegation of hurling stones at holy Hindu sites.

The terrifying rise in Islamophobia within India is a distressing consequence of the BJP-RSS government’s blind pursuit of the majoritarian ‘Hindutva’ agenda and its overt support of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric, the statement said. 

"India’s veneer of so-called ‘secularism’ has been completely lifted and has laid bare its true face of an undeclared ‘Hindu Rashtra’, where Muslims are perpetually targeted, tormented, and marginalized."

Pakistan called upon the Indian government to take decisive action against fundamentalist-Hindu elements for fomenting communal violence and hatred against Muslims. Rather than extending blanket impunity to these elements, the Indian government must take demonstrable steps to curb the ever-rising tide of Islamophobia in India and ensure that Muslims are not victimized for their faith, he said.

Pakistan also called on the international community, particularly the United Nations and its human rights machinery, to take cognizance of the rapidly deteriorating situation of Islamophobia in India and hold India accountable for its failure to ensure the security and well-being of its Muslim citizens.