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‘Grave concern’: Pakistan summons Indian envoy over genocide calls against Muslims

Indian high commission in Islamabad. [Photo: MEA]

Days after hate speeches were made by Hindu right-wing members against Muslims in Haridwar and Delhi, the Government of Pakistan summoned the Indian envoy at the High Commission in Islamabad on the issue pertaining to open genocide calls against Muslims.

In an official statement released by the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan on Monday, it said, “Today, the Indian Charge d’affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad and asked to convey the Government of Pakistan’s serious concerns to the Government of India over the widely reported open calls by Hindutva proponents for carrying out genocide of Indian Muslims.”

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said it was “impressed upon” the Indian Government that it was “highly reprehensible” that those who called for ethnic cleansing at the event have “neither expressed any regret nor the Indian government has condemned or taken any action against them so far”.

The statement also said it was conveyed to the Indian side that the reported hate speeches have been viewed with “grave concern by civil society and cross-section of the people of Pakistan and around the world”.

Claiming that a “toxic narrative against minorities, particularly against Muslims has become a norm”, Pakistan said it expects India to investigate these hate speeches and take measures to stop such incidents from recurring in the future.

Pertinently, at the Haridwar event, which was held from December 17 to 19, the controversial Yati Narsinghanand, the priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad who is facing several FIRs in UP, called for a “war against Muslims” and urged “Hindus to take up weapons” to ensure a “Muslim didn’t become the Prime Minister in 2029.”

Former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay was among those who had attended the event.

Following nationwide outrage, three persons were booked in connection with the hate speeches. Swami Dharamdas and Sadhvi Annapurna, along with Waseem Rizvi, who had assumed the name of Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi after converting to Hinduism, were named in the FIR lodged last Thursday.

The FIR has been lodged under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language).

Earlier, various politicians of India including members from Congress and Trinamool party condemned the hateful move and sought action against those who made the hateful comments.

Seventy-six advocates of the Supreme Court of India had also written to Chief Justice of India NV asking the court to take suo motu cognizance of the incident.

Naming a list of people who had given the call, the advocates wrote that in absence of police action, “Urgent judicial intervention is required to prevent such events that seem to have become the order of the day”.

 

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