‘Blatant intrusion into religious affairs’: Pakistan condemns ‘profiling’ of mosques in IIOJK

Pakistan on Saturday condemned the reported profiling of mosques and mosque management committees in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“This blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief, and reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalise the Muslim population of the occupied territory,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

The development comes as the Indian authorities have launched a sweeping data-collection exercise targeting mosques and persons associated with them across IIOJK.

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As per the Kashmir Media Service, (KMS) the move is aimed at tightening control over religious and civic life in the occupied territory.

Indian have begun circulating a detailed four-page form to mosques in several areas, seeking exhaustive information about religious institutions and their functionaries, including imams, khateebs, muezzins, mosque committee members and those linked with Bait-ul-Maal, the KMS said.

The FO said the forcible collection of personal details, photographs and sectarian affiliations of religious functionaries amounts to systematic harassment, aimed at instilling fear among worshippers and obstructing the free exercise of their faith.

These actions form part of a broader pattern of institutionalised Islamophobia driven by the Hindutva ideology of the occupying Indian government. The selective targeting of mosques and Muslim clergy exposes the discriminatory and communal character of these policies, it said.

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The FO said the people of Jammu and Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practise their religion without fear, coercion or discrimination.

“Pakistan will continue to stand in solidarity with them and will persist in raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance targeting Kashmiris,” it maintained.