Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui has rejected reports about the virtual meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ambassadors to the United Nations on May 20.
A report had emerged that the United Arab Emirates and Maldives have thwarted an attempt by Pakistan to set up an informal group of OIC envoys at the UN on Islamophobia. It was a routine meeting of the envoys of OIC countries which discussed other issues as well.
In a statement, the spokesperson termed media reports as “misleading and factually incorrect” and said the distorted reporting first appeared in a section of Indian media.
During the meeting, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram highlighted the rising wave of Islamophobia and state-sponsored violence against Indian Muslims that has entered into a dangerous phase under the RSS-BJP dispensation.
“The OIC and its human rights body — OIC-IPHRC — have issued strong statements on the Indian Government’s recent anti-Muslim actions, including CAA, targeted killing of Muslims in Delhi, Babri Masjid verdict, and demonisation of Muslims in the context of Covid-19,” it recalled.
The FO maintained that besides OIC, the United Nations human rights machinery, international human rights organisations and international media had taken cognisance of the situation and expressed concerns on the plight of Muslims in India.
