Pakistan on Saturday said India was violating its international human rights obligations by its “deliberate incitement” against Muslims in its own territory.
The statement comes amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries in the wake of their recent military confrontation, sparked by New Delhi’s allegations levelled without evidence against Islamabad over a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
Responding to media queries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in a statement: “The targeting of Muslims through hate speech, discriminatory actions, and state complicity is a matter of serious concern for the international community.
“At a time when restraint and reconciliation are most needed, the deliberate incitement of religious hatred for political or ideological purposes violates international human rights obligations and vitiates the prospects for communal harmony, and regional stability,” it added.
Pakistan expressed “grave concern over the alarming rise in Islamophobic incidents across India” and called upon its government to “uphold the rights and safety of all its citizens, regardless of faith”.
Earlier this month, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which is based in New Delhi, reported 184 hate crimes targeted at Muslims all over India between April 27 and May 8.
These affected at least 316 individuals, “physically or otherwise”, noting that the actual number was likely higher.
The incidents comprised 84 hate speeches, 64 acts of intimidation, 42 harassment incidents, 39 assaults, 19 acts of vandalism, 14 threats, seven verbal abuses and three murders.
The APCR further said that 106 of the 184 hate crimes were linked to the Pahalgam attack. The highest number of them was recorded in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
“The nature of hate crimes indicates a nationally resonant atmosphere of hostility and not local anomalies,” the civil rights group noted.
One such incident was the vandalism of Karachi Bakery in India’s Hyderabad by the right-wing workers of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Al Jazeera, incendiary music tracks labelling Indian Muslims as “traitors” and advocating their boycott were being circulated widely. Al Jazeera found at least 20 songs that “carried and amplified such Islamophobic themes”.
Besides intensifying a crackdown on alleged links to Pakistan, India has also made arrests over critical comments.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested on May 18 in a case related to his comments on the military briefings during the India-Pakistan flare-up.
Days later, Mahmudabad was granted bail by India’s top court, which also ordered the formation of a special police team to probe his comments.