Babri Mosque verdict shredded veneer of India's secularism: FO

ISLAMABAD: Expressing deep concerns over the judgment of Indian apex court in historic Babri Mosque case, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Mohammad Faisal on Saturday said that the decision has once again failed to uphold the demands of justice, ARY News reported.

In a statement issued by the FO, Dr. Faisal said, “This decision has shredded the veneer of 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.”

He said that as the United Nations recently noted the Indian Supreme Court’s response to human rights petitions in the context of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was slow and this decision pointed out that when it acted. The spokesperson further said that it was unable to protect the interests of India’s minorities.”

A process of re-writing history was underway in India in order to recast it in the image of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in pursuance of the Hindutva ideology, the spokesperson said and added that It was also fast affecting India’s major institutions.

Dr. Faisal said that the rising tide of extremist ideology in India, based on the belief of Hindu supremacy and exclusion, was a threat to regional peace and stability.

He said that the Indian government should 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 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, the spokesperson added.