Imran condemns passage of bill

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday strongly condemned the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill by Indian Lok Sabha, saying the legislation was a violation of international human rights law and bilateral agreements with Pakistan.

"It is part of the RSS Hindu Rashtra design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi government," the prime minister wrote in a tweet, coinciding with his message on International Human Rights Day.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan can be granted citizenship.

On situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister said "we must appeal to the world's conscience, to upholders of international law and to the UNSC to act against the illegal annexation of IOJK". "We condemn the occupying Indian government's siege of IOJ&K ongoing for over four months now and demand an end to the gross abuse and atrocities being inflicted on Kashmiri men, women and children by Indian occupation forces in violation of all international humanitarian and human rights laws," he said. Imran Khan said, "We salute and stand resolutely with the brave Kashmiris struggling for their right to self-determination."

Earlier, the Foreign Office in a statement termed India's Citizenship Amendment Bill "another major step towards the realisation of the concept of 'Hindu Rashtra', idealised and relentlessly pursued by the right-wing Hindu leaders for several decades." "It is driven by a toxic mix of an extremist 'Hindutva' ideology and hegemonic ambitions in the region. It is also a clear manifestation of interference in the internal matters of neighbouring countries based on religion, which we reject completely," added the statement.

"Equally reprehensible are India's pretensions of casting itself as a homeland for minorities allegedly persecuted in the neighbouring countries. The massacre of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat, the Samjhauta Express carnage, and innumerable lynching by cow-vigilantes, repugnant schemes like Ghar wapsi and 'Love Jihad', and violence against Christians, Sikhs, Jains and even low-caste Dalits are the hallmarks of the new India ruled by the proponents of the extremist Hindu ideology.

The FO statement said the continuing persecution of eight million unarmed and innocent Kashmiris, collectively incarcerated and penalised by 900,000 Indian occupation forces, goes to further illustrate this blatantly extremist mindset. This Indian legislation has also, once again, exposed the hollowness of the claims to 'secularism' and 'democracy.

"We condemn the legislation as regressive and discriminatory, which is in violation of all relevant international conventions and norms and a glaring attempt by India to interfere in the neighbouring countries with malafide intent," said the statement.