ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has assured that the PTI-led federal government was committed to promoting religious freedom in Pakistan and will protecting minorities.
In his message on International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, FM Qureshi said that there is a disproportionate growth in hate speech and stigmatization of Muslim communities leading to acts of violence.
“Pakistan will continue advancing international efforts to protect individuals against xenophobia, discrimination, stigmatization, and incitement to violence based on religion or belief,” he added.
He pointed out the steps taken by the federal government to promote freedom on the basis of religion or belief and protecting minorities. “We opened the Kartarpur Corridor, and constructed the world’s largest Gurdwara, allowing easy access to our Sikh brethren,” he added.
The Foreign Minister also said, “In our own region, the BJP-RSS regime in India, inspired by the extremist Hindutva ideology, has embarked upon a sinister design to cleanse India of the vestiges of its Islamic heritage, and make Muslims second class citizens, and even non-citizens.”
“Suffering of Muslims of India has increased manifold during COVID-19 due to targeted disinformation and deliberate hate campaigns against them,” FM Qureshi added.
He said that the world must call on India to immediately lift its inhuman military siege in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
“For over a year, the people of IoK have been deprived of all fundamental freedoms and India must be held accountable for its serious crimes against the Kashmiri people,” he concluded.
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