Pakistan on Saturday, while expressing its deep concern over the decision of Indian Supreme Court regarding the historic Babri Masjid, said the verdict has shredded the veneer of the so-called secularism of India.
“This decision has shredded the veneer of the so-called secularism of India by making clear that minorities in India are no longer safe; they have to fear for their beliefs and for their places of worship,” the Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement. He said the decision has once again failed to uphold the demands of justice. He said as the United Nations had recently noted that Indian Supreme Court’s response to human rights petitions in the context of Indian-held Kashmir was slow, this decision points out that when it acts, it is unable to protect the interests of India’s minorities.
“A process of re-writing history is underway in India in order to recast it in the image of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in pursuance of the Hindutva ideology. It is also fast affecting India’s major institutions,” he opined.
The spokesman said the rising tide of extremist ideology in India, based on the belief of Hindu supremacy and exclusion, is a threat to regional peace and stability. He urged the Indian government to ensure the protection of Muslims, their lives, rights and properties and avoid being yet again a silent spectator of Muslims becoming the victims of Hindu extremists and zealots.
The FO spokesman said the international community, the United Nations and other human rights organizations in particular should play their role by restraining India from its pursuit of an extremist ideology and to ensure equal rights and protection of the minorities in India.
