Asif terms persecution of Rohingya, Kashmiris, Palestinians failure of Muslim world
- By Web Desk -
- Sep 05, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has expressed deep anguish at atrocities being committed against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
In a tweet, the foreign minister termed the persecution of Rohingya, Kashmiri and Palestinian Muslims as a collective failure of religious and political leadership of Muslim world.
Persecution of Rohingiya,Kashmiri Palestinian,&Muslims minorities is collective failure of religious/political leadership of Muslim world
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) September 4, 2017
In another tweet, he said, “Pakistan is host to three million Afghan refugees legacy of a proxy war…10s of thousands Rohingyas carry Pak passport & live in different countries.”
Pak is host to 3million+ Afghan refugees legacy of a proxy war..10s of thousands Rohingyas carry Pak passport & live in different countries.
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) September 4, 2017
In a separate statement, Asif emphasized that the plight of Rohingya Muslims was a challenge to the conscience of the international community.
He backed OIC’s position condemning the latest violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
The foreign minister said that violence and serious human right violations of the Rohingya Muslims as well as violation of international humanitarian law is deplorable. Pakistan is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya Muslims to alleviate their suffering, he added.
More than 2,600 houses have been burned down in Rohingya-majority areas of Myanmar’s northwest in the last week, the government said on Saturday, in one of the deadliest violence against the Muslim minority in decades.
About 58,600 people have fled into neighboring Bangladesh from Myanmar, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR, as aid workers there struggle to cope the crisis.
Myanmar officials blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for the burning of the homes. The group claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on security posts last week that prompted clashes and a large army counter-offensive.
But the persecuted people fleeing to Bangladesh say a campaign of arson and killings by the Myanmar army is aimed at trying to force them out.
The treatment of Myanmar’s roughly 1.1 million Rohingya people is the biggest challenge facing leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the Muslim minority that has long complained of persecution.