ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz has slammed the Modi government over its treatment of religious minorities in India and violation of international laws.

“The RSS-BJP government targets minorities in India, especially Muslims, for racist and violent acts, has launched a campaign of baseless and false allegations against the staff of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi,” Senator Faraz said in a statement on Monday.

The minister said that the Indian act was a violation of international laws, preventing the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi from discharging its diplomatic duties and arresting and torturing diplomatic staff was a heinous and highly reprehensible act.

Terms arrest of Pakistan’s diplomatic staff a heinous act

He said that the BJP government’s act was a planned move to distract attention of the international community from gross human rights violations being committed by the state forces and the stooges of ruling party in India.

“The campaign aims to cover up its crimes, bring global stigma against minorities and divert attention from state terrorism against unarmed Kashmiris in occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr Faraz said.

He said the unresolved international dispute over Jammu and Kashmir was a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and international law, and unilateral and illegal actions in the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir by the incumbent government were a crime.

The minister called upon the international community to take note of India’s actions and hold New Delhi accountable for its violations of diplomatic and international laws and said that India was a source of instability and tense relations in the whole region.

“India is guilty of aggression against all its neighbours in the region. The Indian mischief and expansionist thinking have forced even a peaceful and progressive friendly country like China to bring its army to the border, while similar news reports were coming in the media regarding Nepal,” Mr Faraz said.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2020