—— Shames India for exploitation of religious minorities
—— Asserts Hindutva backers destroying places of worship of minorities
—— Asks India to shun policy of hate and aggression
—— Launches dossier on religious hatred in India
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar on Wednesday launched a dossier on the exploitation of religious minorities in India.
Speaking in a seminar titled ‘Margalla Dialogue’ in a policy research institute in Islamabad, Kakar said that India is responsible for hostility and instability in the region. The dossier said that India is involved in brutality towards minorities since 2014. As many as 294 incidents of hatred were reported alone in 2021.
The dossier added that the historical mosques are under attack and hundreds of churches were put on fire in Manipur state of India. As many as 24,496 religious sites were taken over by the government of India in Occupied Kashmir. The dossier urged the international powers to force India to stop the human rights violations. “Pakistan is emerging as a responsible state and we’ll continue playing our role for the international peace,” said PM Kakar.
Talking about the climate change, caretaker prime minister said that it is a global challenge and we need a robust collaboration to fight it.
“The world powers must play their role to resolve the Kashmir and Palestine issues,” Kakar said. He added that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine by killing the innocent children. The justice must be done with the Palestinians, PM said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday launched a dossier, released by Islamabad Policy and Research Institute (IPRI), on the atrocities and exploitation of religious minorities in India.
Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar launched the dossier during the annual Margalla Dialogue 2023 conference on ‘Evolving World Environment: Charting the Course for Our Future’ in Islamabad.
According to the document, the Indian government – since 2014 – committed atrocities against minorities, while discriminatory laws and campaigns on local media contributed greatly to the violation of rights of the minorities.
The dossier pointed out that Hindutva ideologues are destroying places of worship of minorities.
In 2021, 294 incidents of hate crimes were reported against Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, and hundreds of churches were burned in Manipur, it stated.
“Dozens of historic mosques remained under attack across India and faced threats of destruction or evacuation,” it noted.
Furthermore, the dossier stated more than 1,600 mosques in India are being targeted by a media campaign, while 24,496 religious places have been taken into government custody in India-held Kashmir.
“The worst genocide in history is going on in India against Muslims, and as a signatory to the international conventions, India is bound to stop the genocide,” it added.
It urged the international community to force India to stop human rights violations while fulfilling its obligations under international conventions.
Addressing the conference today, PM Kakar termed Hindutva ideology in Indian society as “a recipe for disaster”.
He said contrary to the ongoing persecution in India, the minorities in Pakistan were sharing their destinies with Pakistan having deep entrenched roots in business as well as society.
The prime minister, who had also been the IPRI’s board member, highlighted the potential for connectivity with the countries in the region including India, and said Pakistan never shied away from establishing trade links with India but it could not beg that as trade should be for mutual benefits.
However, he said before such links, it was essential to speak out on the Kashmir conflict as without addressing that issue, it was challenging to have normal relations with the current Indian regime.
He told the gathering that the Kashmir issue demanded attention aligned with the aspirations of its people as despite promises and UN guarantees, the Kashmiris could not be given their right to self-determination. Postponing the issue is not a solution as the historical resilience against colonization is evident, he added.
The prime minister said Pakistan was faced with the challenge of non-state actors but the country was prepared to respond that, without needing anyone’s tangible assistance.
Giving a historical account of human history to the formation of modern-day political groups, the prime minister said amidst the containment policy, China arose to become the second biggest economy of the world.
He said, unlike India, Pakistan never incentivized the conflicts.
Prime Minister Kakar said the country was ready to give a push to its economy by exploiting its potential of land and mineral resources and that the energies of a huge youth population needed to be channelised which was yet under-invested in terms of human resource as well as skill development.
