Pakistan condemns profiling of mosques, management committees in IIOJK

Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan on Saturday condemned the reported profiling of mosques and mosque management committees in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said, “This blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief, and reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalise the Muslim population of the occupied territory.”

The FO spokesperson explained that the forcible gathering of personal information, photographs and sectarian identities of religious figures amounts to organised harassment.

Such practices, the statement said, are intended to spread fear among worshippers and restrict their ability to practice religion freely.

The FO statement said that these measures are not isolated incidents but part of a larger trend of state-backed Islamophobia shaped by the Hindutva-driven agenda of the Indian authorities exercising control over the region.

Highlighting the discriminatory nature of the actions, the spokesperson said, “The selective targeting of mosques and Muslim clergy lays bare the discriminatory and communal character of these policies. The people of Jammu and Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practice their religion without fear, coercion or discrimination.”

Reaffirming Pakistan’s stance, the FO spokesperson added that the country would continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and would persist in raising its voice at all forums against every form of religious persecution and intolerance directed at the Kashmiri population.