Pakistan urges world to take practical steps to stop India from pursuing anti-minority policies

Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community, including the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the human rights organizations, to take practical steps to stop the Indian government from pursuing discriminatory and anti-minority policies.

The world must ensure protection of the minorities, especially the Muslims and their places of worships and properties in India, said Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui here at a weekly press briefing.

She said the large scale targeted violence against the Muslims that took place in New Delhi in the backdrop of highly communal statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leaders had been a matter of great concern for Pakistan and it was highly condemnable.

The spokesperson also condemned the desecration and vandalization of places of worships in New Delhi.

At least 14 mosques and one Dargah, she said, were reportedly burnt down by Hindutva vigilantes within a span of three to four days. The sacred places were deliberately rampaged while copies of the Holy Quran were desecrated, she added.

Voicing concern over the gross human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and attempts to bring about demographic change there, the spokesperson said Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally recognized dispute, which had been reaffirmed repeatedly by the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General and most recently by the OIC's Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir.

Responding to a question about Afghanistan, she said Pakistan had felicitated Ashraf Ghani over his election as president of the country.

She said Pakistan had maintained that the US-Taliban peace agreement was a historic step towards the ultimate aim of achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan. It was a significant opportunity to move towards the next step of intra Afghan dialogue, she added.

The spokesperson said Pakistan had played the role of a facilitator and now it was the responsibility of Afghans and their representatives to take the process forward and reach a solution for peace and stability in their country.

To a question, she said Pakistan had raised the issue of the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui with the United States and their talks on the matter were continuing.

When asked about the coronavirus, the spokesperson said necessary steps had been taken by the federal and provincial governments at the airports and border areas to contain the virus.