Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the highly provocative and sacrilegious remarks made by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader against Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
"This is the second time in the last three months that a senior BJP leader has made disrespectful comments against our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said in a statement.
The statement said that these highly derogatory remarks have gravely hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and billions of Muslims around the world.
The FO spokesperson said that the token and perfunctory disciplinary action taken by the BJP against the said official cannot assuage the pain and anguish caused to the Muslims of India and around the world.
He said it is highly reprehensible that the BJP official was released on bail within hours of arrest and was welcomed by BJP zealots.
Asim Iftikhar said the current incident once again highlights the present Indian regime's obsessively spiteful demeanour towards the Muslims and the worrying trajectory of Islamophobia in India.
"The fact is that India is nothing more than an undeclared ‘Hindu Rashtra’ where Muslims are routinely denigrated, dispossessed and marginalized and their religious beliefs are trampled under majoritarian hegemonism," the statement said.
The FO spokesperson said the deafening silence of the top BJP leadership on the abhorrent incident manifestly reflects their approval and full support to the radical Hindu zealots within and beyond the BJP.
"Pakistan demands the Indian government to take immediate and decisive action against the BJP members habitually involved in attacking Islam and targeting the dignity of beloved Prophet (PBUH)," the statement added.
The FO also called upon the international community to take urgent cognizance of the aggravating situation of Islamophobia in India and hold the current BJP government to account for its overt espousal of an anti-Muslim and anti-Islam agenda.
