FM Qureshi urges Indian Muslims to stand up for their rights

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday urged Indian Muslims to stand up for the protection of their fundamental rights in India.

In a statement released today, the minister said that the persecution campaign against Muslims in the neighbouring country will not stop if the Muslim community remained silent.

FM Qureshi strongly condemned the banning of the hijab at educational institutions in Karnataka, India.

“India claims to be a champion of secularism and democracy, while, in fact, the Muslim citizens face restrictions on their attire,” the minister said.

He added that the flag bearers of human rights should take notice and speak for the rights of Muslim girl students who are being deprived of their fundamental right to education.

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Qureshi mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly expressed deep concern over the growing trend of Islamophobia across the world.

The minister stated that at the 47th meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers held in Niamey, Pakistan had not only raised its voice against Islamophobia but had also presented a unanimously adopted resolution.

He informed that the upcoming 48th meeting of the OIC-CFM, which is scheduled to be held on March 22-23 in Islamabad, will discuss the Palestine and Kashmir issues, Islamophobia and other challenges facing the Muslim world.

He said the focus will also be laid on how to effectively use the OIC platform to protect the rights of Muslims.

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Qureshi's statement comes a day after a video of a lone Burqa-wearing Muslim student, who was heckled by Hindu far-right goons in India’s southern Karnataka state, stirred outrage and triggered protests after some schools in the state refused entry to female students wearing the hijab.

"We will continue [our protests] because it [wearing a hijab] is a part of being a Muslim girl; They [friends from other communities] even supported us," Muskan Khan who was heckled by the RSS goons told India’s NDTV.

Calls across India for anti-Muslim violence – even genocide – are moving from the fringes to the mainstream, while Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his top leaders keep silent, warned a recent report published in The New York Times.

"The hate speech is stoking communal tensions in India where small triggers have incited mass-death tragedies," the report written by a team of Times’ reporters said, pointing out that Hindu monks’ agenda already resonates with increasingly emboldened vigilante groups.