ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has strongly condemned the recent remarks made by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister in Karnataka K S Eshwarappa, saying that these are yet another manifestation of the rising Islamophobia in India.
Last Sunday, K S Eshwarappa was addressing a public gathering in the Indian City of Mangaluru and in the meantime, the Azaan was recited from a nearby mosque.
Taking objection to the Azaan sound, the BJP leader remarked as quoted by the Indian media “This is a headache wherever you go. There is the Supreme Court judgement. This will stop today or tomorrow and should have no double about it”. “If you have to call for prayers using loudspeakers, it means Allah is deaf,” he further uttered.
In her weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Friday, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that “Pakistan is deeply concerned at the alarming rise in communal violence and hatred directed against Muslims in India, who are being systematically stigmatized and marginalized on account of their faith.”
“We call on India to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and well-being of minorities and allow them to profess and practice their faith in peace,” she said.
On March 15, the first International Day to Combat Islamophobia was commemorated in Pakistan and around the world.
Last year, at Pakistan’s initiative on behalf of OIC, the UN General Assembly unanimously designated March 15 as the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia.”
The Spokesperson said that Pakistan is deeply concerned at the world-wide increase in racism, xenophobia and violence motivated by Islamophobia, which is manifesting itself in the negative profiling and stigmatization of Muslims, vandalization of Islamic symbols and holy sites, discriminatory laws and policies, ban on Hijab, and attacks on mosques.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan is are also concerned about rising hate crime against Muslims including Quran burnings in Europe.
“We call for fostering global dialogue to promote a culture of peace and tolerance and to raise awareness to combat Islamophobia,” she said.
