Pakistan Condemns Construction of Temple at Babri Mosque Site
Karachi, Pakistan, MINA – Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the construction of a Hindu temple at the location of Babri Mosque after the controversial ruling of the Indian Supreme Court in November.
India’s Uttar Pradesh state government announced the construction of the Ram temple at the location of the Babri Mosque began on Tuesday, thus quoted from Anadolu Agency.
The development came at a time when the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries struggled to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
“While the world is grappling with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the joint RSS-BJP in India is busy shamelessly advancing the ‘Hindutva’ agenda,” the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Starting the construction of a [Mandir] temple on the site of the historic Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on May 26 is another step in this direction and the government and people of Pakistan condemn it on the strongest terms,” the statement added.
According to Pakistan, the temple’s construction is a continuation of the “controversial” decision of the Indian high court, which failed to uphold justice.
The Babri Mosque was destroyed by hardline Hindu masses in 1992.
Then the Prime Minister of India at that time P.V. Narasimha Rao promised to rebuild the mosque in a televised speech.
However, the Indian Supreme Court last November handed the historic mosque site to Hindus for the construction of a temple after a prolonged legal battle.
The court also ruled that a 20,234 square meter (five acre) piece of land that was “suitable” would be allocated to the Sunni Waqf Board either by the central government or the provincial government to build a new mosque.
“The Supreme Court ruling tore up a layer called Indian secularism by explaining that minorities are not safe in India and that they must fear their lives, beliefs and places of worship,” the ministry said.
“Developments relating to the Babri Mosque (mosque), Discriminatory Citizenship (CAA), initiation of the National Citizens Register (NRC) process, and targeted killings of Muslims in Delhi in February 2020 are clear illustrations of how Muslims in India being marginalized, seized and become targets of violence that does not make sense, “he added.
The rising wave of religious bigotry in India, according to Pakistan is well documented by international human rights organizations, regularly highlighted by international media and raised in a number of world parliaments.
“The international community must hold India accountable for ongoing violations of minority human rights and urge the Indian government to take immediate steps to ensure that the rights of all minorities are fully protected and promoted in accordance with India’s obligations under international instruments where it is party,” he concluded. (T/R7/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
