The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has rejected and expressed deep concern over the anti-Muslim prejudice in India in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and called for equal treatment of all citizens.
"The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expresses deep concern following recent media accounts of rising anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia within political and media circles and on mainstream and social media platforms, where Indian Muslim minority is blamed of spreading the coronavirus in the country," the OIC said in a statement issued by its Secretariat from Jeddah.
"The OIC General Secretariat expresses its rejection of the targeting of Muslims anywhere, pointing out that the current Covid-19 world situation is such that it requires greater efforts, more active cooperation and solidarity mechanisms worldwide, and stronger mutual aid among all citizens of the same country," it further stated.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan took to the Twitter on Sunday and lambasted the Modi government for the "deliberate and violent" targeting of the Indian Muslims in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
"The deliberate and violent targeting of Muslims in India by Modi Govt to divert the backlash over its Covid-19 policy, which has left thousands stranded and hungry, is akin to what Nazis did to Jews in Germany. Yet more proof of the racist Hindutva Supremacist ideology of Modi Govt," the prime minister stated.
Responding to media queries, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui urged the Indian government to take steps to effectively protect the minorities and their places of worship.
Rejecting the Indian concerns through a "note verbale" regarding damage to a few domes of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib due to the strong winds caused by severe storm, she stated that the domes damaged on the night of 17 April had already been repaired.
She said that the repair work was completed within 24 hours of damage, adding that the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) and the Sikh community had greatly appreciated the efforts for immediate repair of the damaged domes.
The spokesperson added that it was ironic that a country where the religious minorities did not feel safe and where their places of worship were routinely destroyed under patronage of state machinery had the temerity to raise the issue of minor damage caused to a religious site elsewhere due to a natural calamity.
"India would be well-advised to take steps to effectively protect the minorities and their places of worship, rather than feigning concerns for the rights of minorities elsewhere," she added.
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