Pakistan has expressed “grave concern” after leaders of the extremist ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) confirmed their direct role in the anti-Muslim violence of 2002 in the Indian state of Gujarat that led to the massacre of over 2,000 Muslims and called on New Delhi to set up an independent inquiry commission.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, she referred to a recent statement by the former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, in which he confirmed Pakistan’s long standing assertion that the then BJP-led government under incumbent Indian Prime Minister Shri Narndra Modi was directly responsible for fomenting violence and massacre of Muslims. Modi served as the chief minister of Gujarat when the anti-Muslim riots broke out in Godhra and were even banned from entering the United States for his role in the riots.
The foreign office said that Vaghela’s claims and Pakistan’s suspicions had been further corroborated indirectly by the Indian Home Minister, who recently claimed that those responsible for Gujarat riots had been “taught a lesson” and “permanent peace” had been established in Gujarat as a result of BJP’s decisive actions.
“It is most deplorable that the crimes against humanity, targeting Muslims, were perpetrated solely for BJP’s political gains.”
Regretting how the BJP was once again seeking to use divisive policies and genocide to garner votes in, Islamabad pointed to BJP’s continued poor track record of upholding the rights of minorities.
“Under BJP rule, India’s treatment of its minorities, especially Indian Muslims, has been discriminatory, degrading, and full of hate and violence,” the statement said, and deplored how the Indian Supreme Court had given Modi a clean chit for his admitted role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“The Supreme Court shut down as many as 11 petitions, including one filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India, seeking an independent probe into the 2002 Gujarat riots cases,” the Foreign Office said.
“Sadly, the entire Indian legal and administrative machinery is blindly pursuing the Hindutva-driven agenda of the ruling BJP-RSS nexus, where perpetrators of hate and violence are protected by law and enjoy the exalted status, whereas religious minorities are constantly threatened and denied the freedom to practice their faith without fear, while their lives, property and places of worship remain under threat of violation.”
Islamabad urged New Delhi to immediately constitute an independent commission of inquiry to bring the culprits of the horrific Godhra incident, as well as the Gujarat riots, to justice.
Pakistan also called upon the international community, particularly human rights activists and defenders to take serious note of the aggravating situation of Islamophobia in India; and calls on the Indian government to ensure that the rights of minorities in India, especially Muslims, are safeguarded and their lives protected.
