India hits out at Pak over Ahmadiyyas persecusion, air-bombings against Afghan in UNGA
UNITED NATIONS: (Mar 17) India called out Pakistan for its habit of “fabricating imaginative” tales of Islamophobia in neighbouring countries, questioning how Islamabad’s own brutal repression of Ahmadiyyas or air-bombing campaigns during Ramzan against Afghanistan can be characterised as.
"India's western neighbour is an excellent example of fabricating imaginative tales of Islamophobia in their neighbourhood," India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said.
"One wonders what would brutal repression of Ahmadiyyas in this country be termed, or the large-scale refoulement of the helpless Afghans or air-bombing campaigns in this Holy Month of Ramadan?” Harish said.
Harish was addressing the UN General Assembly commemoration of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia on Monday.
In a strong retort, he also said that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which "our western neighbour has systematically attempted to weaponise against India”, has repeatedly made false and baseless allegations against my country.
He stressed that it is important for the UN to take note of the rising trend and dangers of weaponising religious identity and instrumentalising it to serve narrow political ends by state and non-state actors alike.
Underlining that India is home to more than 200 million Muslims, one of the largest populations of the community in the world, he said Muslims in India, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, elect their own representatives to speak for them.
“The only ‘phobia’ evident here appears to be directed against the multicultural and peaceful coexistence that all communities in India enjoy, including Muslim communities," he said.
"Such narratives run counter to India’s fundamental ethos and reflect instead the sectarianism and terrorist mentality that this country has perpetuated since its inception. That is the real issue at hand,” he said.
Harish said that history bears repeated witness to how the politicisation of religion does not solve and resolve grievances; however well-intentioned, they risk lending legitimacy to precisely this kind of selective, polarising narratives that breed further division.
“The United Nations was conceived as an institution that transcends religion, culture, and politics. Its credibility rests on universality and impartiality. We, therefore, urge caution against frameworks that exclusively focus on one faith, without addressing the broader phenomenon of religiophobia in all its manifestations,” he said.
India noted that the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief remains a very balanced and enduring instrument that enshrines the rights of all religious followers without privileging any.