Derogatory social media post: Pakistan urges India to act against perpetrators

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with India on the derogatory social media post against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and urged New Delhi to investigate the incident and take immediate action against the perpetrators.

According to a statement of the Foreign Office, Pakistan conveyed its strong condemnation to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on the reported incident involving a derogatory social media post against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by an extremist from the majority Hindu community in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

It stated that the offensive post against Islam had hurt Muslims and reflected the rising Islamophobia and targeting of the minority communities in India.

It added that the Indian police instead of preventing this hate crime against Muslims and Islam, used brute force, killed at least three protesters, and injured many more.

As an added injustice, the Muslim community in the area is being falsely framed for alleged vandalism and assault on police personnel, it added.

"The rising incidents of religious hate crime in India are a direct and inescapable consequence of the RSS-BJP combine's extremist ideology of 'Hindutva'," it stated, adding that the incident had been viewed with concern, and the civil society in Pakistan had called for justice for the minority Muslim community in India.

In its statement, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan had called upon the government of India to investigate the incident and take immediate action against the perpetrators of religious hatred.

The Government of India has also been called upon to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority communities, particularly Muslims, and take steps to ensure prevention of hate speech and hate crimes against Islam, and protection of religious rights of Muslims, it added.

"The international community, the United Nations and relevant international organizations should play their role against the rising tide of Islamophobia in India and ensure practical steps for the protection and religious rights of minorities in India," it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020