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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the rising wave of Hindutva in India has emerged as a serious threat not only to Indian Muslims but also to regional security.
In his statement at the 47th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Niamey, the foreign minister said the Modi government is systematically attacking the country’s over 180 million Muslims.
The foreign minister said suffering and the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir remains particularly dire. In the backdrop of India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, occupied Kashmir has turned into a grave human and humanitarian tragedy.
He said for over fifteen months now, over eight million Kashmiris continue to face lockdown, military siege, communications blockade, arbitrary detentions, and unprecedented restrictions. The entire occupied territory has turned into the world’s largest open-air prison.
He said to gloss over its crimes and malign the indigenous resistance movement in occupied Kashmir, India hurls accusations of cross-border terrorism against Pakistan and may resort to a false flag operation and undertake another misadventure. He said India also continues ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, deliberately targeting the civilian population.
The foreign minister said to effectively confront the coronavirus pandemic, we need to coordinate our actions, benefit from each other’s experiences and pool our resources by bringing governments, scientists and research institutions together.
FM Qureshi said the rise and political mainstreaming of far-right extremism in many countries is creating a hostile environment for Muslims. It is critical to raise awareness about this new scourge. He said Pakistan has always played the lead role in combating Islamophobia and will continue to do so.
Foreign Minister said Peace and stability in the Middle East is a priority for Pakistan. The illegal annexation of the Palestinian territory, the building of illegal settlements, and the inhumane living conditions of the Palestinian make realisation of that dream more difficult every passing day.
He said peace in Afghanistan is key to the stability and progress of the entire region. Apart from Afghanistan itself, Pakistan has suffered the most from the conflict in Afghanistan, and will be the biggest beneficiary of peace in the country. He said Pakistan will continue to fully support the Afghan peace and reconciliation process and hope that collective endeavours will result in a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
