UK minister’s remarks ‘misleading’: FO

Pakistan on Wednesday took exception to the remarks made by a British minister, singling out British-Pakistani men that their cultural values were at odds with the British values.

Speaking at the weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch termed Suella Braverman’s remarks as a “misleading picture signalling the intent to target and treat British-Pakistanis differently”.

Braverman came under fire for comments regarding British-Pakistani men. The home secretary during an interview with Sky News had said that British-Pakistani men “hold cultural values at odds with British values”.

The UK minister was talking about plans to tackle child abuse when she singled out British-Pakistani men and said: “White English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British-Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse rings or networks.”

But the spokesperson, the British home secretary had “erroneously branded criminal behaviour of some individuals as a representation of the entire community”.

"We find these remarks as dangerous, discriminatory, and xenophobic," she said.

"Her statement paints a highly misleading picture, signalling the intent to target and treat British Pakistanis differently. In making these uncalled-for remarks, the home secretary has erroneously branded the criminal behaviour of some individuals as a representation of the entire community."

“She fails to take note of the systemic racism and ghettoisation of communities and omits to recognise the tremendous cultural, economic and political contributions that British-Pakistanis continue to make in British society,” Baloch added.

Violence against Muslims in India

Meanwhile, the spokesperson expressed deep concerns over the rising incidents of violence against Muslims in India.

“On this Ram Navami, anti-Muslim violence was reported in at least eight states of India as extremist outfits organised public rallies to celebrate the festival. A number of mosques and other Muslim-owned buildings were attacked. A seminary was burned down in Nalanda district of Bihar, resulting, inter alia, in the burning of around 4500 books, including Holy the Quran,” she told reporters.

“The terrifying rise in Islamophobic and hateful acts against Muslims in India is a consequence of the pursuit of a majoritarian Hindutva agenda and anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric rife in Indian politics,” the spokesperson added.

She welcomed the statement of OIC expressing its concern on rising anti-Muslim incidents in India and urge India to take firm action against the extremists for fomenting communal violence and hatred against Muslims.

India must take demonstrable steps to curb the rising tide of Islamophobia, to provide protection to Muslims for practising their faith and account for those responsible for such hateful acts.

“We reiterate our concerns about the safety and wellbeing of Kashmiri leaders and human rights defenders who are under incarceration in prisons across IIOJK and India.”