ISLAMABAD: Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Tuesday urged the Indian government to initiate legal proceedings against the perpetrators of blasphemy.

In a joint communiqué, CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz and members Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi and Shaykh Muhammad Sahibzada Hassan Haseeb-ur-Rehman said the Indian ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal had offended the Muslims around the world by the insolence of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) of Islam and Umm Al-Mu’minin Hazrat Syeda Ayesha Siddiqah (RA).

It was not enough to suspend their party memberships unless legal action was taken to punish them, they said adding otherwise, it would be understood that it was a deliberate plan of the Indian government to hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims.

They said this heinous act by the spokespersons of the Indian ruling party clearly indicated that the Indian government wanted to create an atmosphere of Islamophobia in the country.

They said after a series of war crimes against Muslims led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attacks on religion also had begun.

They said in India, Muslims were being treated with extreme prejudice. The present government was pursuing a Hindutva policy and efforts were being made to convert ancient mosques into temples, they added.

They said all those measures were part of an organized campaign against Muslims in India. They said it was the duty of all human rights organisations around the world to take note of those issues and play a role in restraining the Indian government from taking anti-Muslim measures and imposing international sanctions on it for its persistent violations of religious freedom.