Indian envoy summoned to convey Pak's concerns on Haridwar hate speeches

Islamabad: Pakistan's foreign ministry summoned India Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad on Monday and asked him to inform New Delhi of its concerns on recent Haridwar hate speeches targeting Muslims, The Indian Express reported.

The Pakistan ministry released a statement in which it said that it had asked the Indian Charge d'Affairs (deputy ambassador) to convey its concerns, on the Hindutva promoters' open calls of Muslim genocide in India, to the Indian government.

The Pak ministry further said that it has to make the Indian government aware of the fact that neither those who delivered hate speeches and called for ethnic cleansing in Haridwar have expressed regret nor the government has taken action in the issue was deplorable.

The statement claimed that toxic narratives against Muslims have become a norm in India and added that Pakistan expects India to probe the incident and ensure no recurrence of similar occurrences.

TIE reports that though foreign ministries' criticism is common, summoning diplomats about an incident such as an abuse on minorities is rare for Pakistan. But India has summoned Pakistan's ambassadors several times before regarding atrocities against Hindu and Sikh minorities in Pakistan. The last such incident was when a Hindu temple was attacked at the Rahim Yar Khan region in Pakistan's Punjab.

In the Haridwar event held from December 17 to 19, a priest, Yati Narsinghanand called for war against Muslims, Hindus to arm themselves and ensure no Muslim becomes Prime Minister of India in the 2029 election.

But an FIR, under IPC 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), was registered last Thursday only after nationwide uproar, and that too was naming only three people- Swami Dharmadas, Sadhvi Annapurna and Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi.