Pakistan condemns commencement of temple construction at Babri Mosque site

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned the commencement of a temple's construction at the Babri Mosque site in India, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Foreign Office.

In its statement, the FO said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh nexus of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using the world's distraction by the coronavirus pandemic to engage in "unabashedly advancing the 'Hindutva' agenda".

"The commencement of construction of a Mandir at the site of the historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on 26 May 2020 is another step in this direction and the Government and people of Pakistan condemn it in the strongest terms," read the statement.

"The commencement of the Mandir’s construction is a sequel to the controversial decision given by the Indian Supreme Court on 9 November 2019, which completely failed to uphold the demands of justice," it added.

The FO said the verdict on Babri Mosque by India's top court "shredded the veneer of so-called ‘secularism’ of India by making clear that the minorities are not safe in India and that they have to fear for their lives, beliefs and places of worship".

"The developments relating to the Babri Masjid, the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), initiation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, and the targeted killings of Muslims in Delhi in February 2020 are vivid illustrations of how Muslims in India are being marginalised, dispossessed, demonised and subjected to senseless violence," it added.

The FO, in its statement, underscored that "the frequent mob lynchings by cow vigilantes and sinister schemes like ‘ghar wapsi’, ‘love jihad’ and ‘Corona jihad’ are part of this mindset".

It said that India is turning into a "Hindu Rashtra" as evidenced by this "right-wing 'Hindutva' agenda, which appears to have permeated the state institutions as well".

"As Pakistan has been sensitising the world community, today’s India under the RSS-BJP sway is driven by the toxic mix of an extremist ideology and hegemonic ambitions. The result is a growing threat to the safety and well-being of minorities in India and to peace and security in the region and beyond," the press release read.

"The rising tide of religious bigotry in India is well-documented by international human rights organizations, regularly highlighted by the international media, and raised in a number of world Parliaments," it added,

According to the statement, Pakistan has called upon the international community to "hold India to account for the continuous violations of human rights of minorities and urge the Indian government to take immediate steps to ensure that the rights of all minorities are fully protected and promoted as per India’s obligations under international instruments to which it is a party".

'A threat to India's neighbours'

Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at the "Hindutva Supremacist Modi government", saying it was becoming a threat to India's neighbours.

In a tweet posted on Wednesday, PM Imran cited India's border disputes with China and Nepal as well as the adverse impact of the Modi government's Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Bangladesh.

"The Hindutva Supremacist Modi Govt with its arrogant expansionist policies, akin to Nazi's Lebensraum (Living Space), is becoming a threat to India's neighbours. Bangladesh through Citizenship Act, border disputes with Nepal and China, and Pakistan threatened with false flag operation," he wrote on Twitter.

"All this after illegal annexation of [India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir], a war crime under 4th Geneva Convention, [and] laying claim to Azad Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

The premier said that India was a threat to its minorities "by relegating them to 2nd class citizens' status" and to regional peace as well.