Pakistan summons Indian envoy, issues demarche
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party continued to receive flak over its national spokesperson’s blasphemous remarks against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Al Jazeera and Arab News reported on Monday.
BJP’s national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and Delhi media operation head Naveen Jindal were reported by the media to also have been expelled from the party.
Saudi Arabia’s government responded harshly to the comments made by the official of the Modi-led government, calling for the suspension of the spokesperson.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia expressed “condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party, insulting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).” The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also condemnaed the BJP official’s remarks. In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said it “reaffirms its permanent rejection of prejudice against the symbols of the Islamic religion and refuses to prejudice all religious figures and symbols”.
In a statement released, the second-largest intergovernmental organisation in the world, after the United Nations, stated that, “The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the recent insults issued by an official in the ruling party in India towards Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).”
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif University in Cairo also criticised the BJP official’s behaviour calling it “a real terrorist action that helps to push the entire world to devastating crises and bloody wars.”
The varsity implored the international community to “firmly ward off such threats.” Al-Azhar established that the recent wave of political defamation of Islam was an outright call for extremism, hatred and conflict amongst religions.
Meanwhile, the Indian Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and conveyed the Government of Pakistan’s categorical rejection and strong condemnation of the highly derogatory remarks made by two senior officials of India’s ruling party BJP about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The Indian diplomat was told that these remarks were totally unacceptable and had not only deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan but of Muslims across the world, thr Foreign Office said
The Indian diplomat was further told that Pakistan deplores the belated and perfunctory disciplinary actions taken by the BJP government against the said officials, which cannot assuage the pain caused to the Muslims.
