Daily Times

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday resolved that Pakistan would continue advancing international efforts to protect individuals against xenophobia, intolerance, discrimination, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, violence and incitement to violence based on religion or belief.

In his message on International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the foreign minister said, “As we commemorate this day, we are particularly alarmed at the global resurgence of xenophobia, hatred and acts of violence against minorities.

“Even as victims of violence belong to diverse religious minorities across the world, there is a disproportionate growth in hate speech and stigmatization of Muslim communities and individuals, leading to acts of violence,” the foreign minister remarked.

He said Pakistan joined the international community to expressing solidarity with and support to the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief. He said it was an important occasion to renew global solidarity in countering discrimination, hatred, and acts of violence against people and communities on the basis of religion or belief.

He said guided by the vision of its founding fathers, Pakistan had always been at the forefront of all international initiatives for promoting peace, tolerance, inter-cultural and inter-faith harmony and respect both at home and abroad.

The foreign minister said that on the basis of the principles enshrined in its constitution, Pakistan had taken a number of steps domestically to promote freedom on the basis of religion or belief and protecting minorities, including establishment of the National Commission for Minorities, and restoration of places of worship of minorities.

“We opened the Kartarpur Corridor, and constructed the world’s largest Gurdwara, allowing easy access to our Sikh brethren from the neighborhood and across the world. The UN Secretary General termed it as a “corridor of hope,” he said.

He said while commemorating the day, “we are particularly alarmed at the global resurgence of xenophobia, hatred and acts of violence against minorities.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan has been raising awareness about this phenomenon and remains in the vanguard of international efforts to counter Islamophobia.

He said in our own region, the BJP-RSS regime in India, inspired by the extremist “Hindutva” ideology, has embarked upon a sinister design to “cleanse” India of the vestiges of its Islamic heritage, and make Muslims second class citizens, and even non-citizens.

He said the suffering of Muslims of India had increased manifold during COVID-19 due to targeted disinformation and deliberate hate campaigns against them.

The foreign minister said as the world stood for victims of violence based on religion and belief, it must also call on India to immediately lift its inhuman military siege in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“For over a year, the people of IIOJK have been deprived of all fundamental freedoms, including their right to perform their religious duties. India must be held accountable for its serious crimes against the Kashmiri people,” the foreign minister emphasized.

Meanwhile, the family members of a missing PhD scholar, Hilal Ahmed, held another demonstration in Srinagar in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to seek his whereabouts.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the family members protesting at Press Enclave said that it had been more than two months since Hilal went missing. They said that Hilal’s mysterious disappearance had made them apprehensive about his safety.

The 27-year-old Hilal Ahmed, a resident of Bemina area of Srinagar, went missing after he went for trekking in Gangabal Lake along with his friends on June 14 this year. Though all his friends returned home, but Hilal didn’t. Since then, Hilal’s relatives have been moving from pillar to post to seek his whereabouts. They have been protesting every week to seek his whereabouts.