Pakistan urges global action over rising Islamophobia, attacks on minorities in India

WEB DESK: Pakistan has urged the international community to take notice of what it described as a surge in Islamophobia, hate speech and violence targeting Muslims in India.

In a statement issued in Islamabad on Tuesday, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi called on the United Nations and other international bodies to play a more active role in safeguarding Islamic heritage sites and ensuring that the religious and cultural rights of India’s minorities are protected.

Islamabad also pressed New Delhi to meet its obligations under international human rights law by guaranteeing the safety of all religious communities, particularly Muslims, and ensuring the security of their places of worship.

The Foreign Office voiced serious concern over the recent flag hoisting at the “Ram Temple” in Ayodhya, built at the location of the demolished Babri Mosque. It recalled that the centuries-old mosque was torn down on December 6, 1992, by extremist groups, and said subsequent court decisions that acquitted the accused and allowed the construction of the temple illustrated what it called India’s discriminatory handling of minority issues.

The statement said these developments were part of a broader trend in which Muslim cultural and religious identity was being undermined under majoritarian Hindutva influence. It added that several other historic mosques across India now faced threats of desecration or destruction, while the country’s Muslim population continued to experience increasing economic, social and political exclusion.