ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Sunday expressed grave concern over confirmation ofBJP leadership’s direct involvement in anti-Muslim violence during thehorrific Gujarat riots of 2002 that led to killing of over two thousandMuslims.
Pakistan also urged India to immediately constitute an independentcommission of inquiry to bring the culprits of the horrific Godhraincident, as well as the Gujarat riots, to justice.
In a statement on Friday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said that as chiefminister of Gujarat in 2002, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taught alesson to “anti-social elements”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) said Shah’s remarks as well as those offormer Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela corroborated andconfirmed “Pakistan’s long-standing assertion that the BJP-led governmentunder the incumbent prime minister – was directly responsible for fomentingviolence and massacre of Muslims.”
“It is most deplorable that the crimes against humanity, targeting Muslims,were perpetrated solely for BJP’s political gains.
“Regrettably, the BJP once again seeks to cash in on its divisive policiestwo decades after the Gujarat tragedy,” the press release of FO reads.
The FO mentioned that the current Indian government’s treatment ofminorities, particularly Muslims, was “discriminatory, degrading and fullof hate and violence”.
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It further noted that the Indian Supreme Court “handed a clean chit” toModi this year for his role in the Gujarat riots and shut down as many as11 petitions, including one filed by the National Human Rights Commissionof India, seeking an independent probe into the riots.
“It is an undeniable fact that India’s incumbent prime minister had beenbanned from entering countries such as the United States till 2014, becauseof his abysmal human rights record as chief minister of the Gujarat state.
“Sadly, the entire Indian legal and administrative machinery is blindlypursuing the Hindutva-driven agenda of the ruling BJP-RSS (RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh) nexus, where perpetrators of hate and violence areprotected by law and enjoy the exalted status, whereas religious minoritiesare constantly threatened and denied the freedom to practice their faithwithout fear, while their lives, property, and places of worship remainunder threat of violation,” the FO remarked.
It added that India must immediately constitute an independent inquirycommission to bring the culprits of the Godhra and Gujarat riots to justice.
The FO also called on the Indian government to ensure that minority rightsin the country were safeguarded and their lives protected.
