Day: January 21, 2022

Kuala Lumpur, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):Members of Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM) and other organisations have called upon Indian government to prevent hate speeches and calls for the genocide of Muslims in India. MAPIM submitted a memorandum to High Commissioner of India in Malaysia, B.N. Reddy, to be forwarded to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the memorandum, they called Indian authorities to prevent hate speeches and calls for the genocide of Muslims in India.

The delegation that met B. N. Reddy was accompanied by MAPIM President Mohammad Azmi Abdul Hamid. In a video clip, shared on his Facebook account, he decried growing hatred against Muslims in India. A three-day event was held between 17 and 19 December 2021 in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district. At the event, certain Hindu religious leaders called for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims and urged members of the Hindu community to make preparations for the same.

The local police have registered a case and arrested two persons so far. The arrested ones have been identified as Yati Narsinghanand and Jitender Narayan Singh Tyagi. Both of them have been continuously been making insulting remarks on Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him), his companions (RA) and the Holy Quran.

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New Delhi, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):A letter from 20 rights groups has urged the social media giant Facebook (now Meta) to release its 2020 Human Rights report on hate speech on its platforms in India for which it had instituted an investigation.

The letter, signed by top global human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and India Civil Watch International, sent to the company earlier this month was made public earlier this week.

“The current perception is that Facebook is not committed to respecting rights in this case. The India HRIA is an important element of Facebook’s human rights due diligence and, at a minimum, should be made public, in line with the company’s responsibility to respect human rights,” read the letter.

The company had hired Foley Hoag in 2020 to independently investigate its impact in India but the report is yet to be released despite growing calls for transparency by human rights groups which have expressed deep concern over the role the company’s platforms play in spreading hate against Muslims in the country.

“As a result of the consistent and continuous barrage of hate on social media, particularly on Facebook, Indian Muslims have been practically dehumanised and rendered helpless and voiceless,” said Zafarul-Islam Khan, a former chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission, said at a press conference organised by Facebook’s critics

Last year, Frances Haugen, a former employee turned whistle-blower triggered a storm after she leaked internal documents which exposed Facebook as it revealed that the company was not doing enough to tackle problematic content in countries where it was most likely to cause harm. Rights activists Teesta Satalvad said at a press conference that facebook’s funding to counter misinformation is stark in India, the country which is its biggest market after the US.

“Facebook allows unchecked inciting content that has become an instrument for targeting minorities, Dalits and women in India,” she said. Activists said in the letter that tech companies should follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which urge that they should “be prepared to communicate this externally, particularly when concerns are raised by or on behalf of affected stakeholders.”

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Jammu, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Joint Churches Fellowship in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), has demanded of the Indian government to take serious cognizance of incidents of harassment of Christian community in occupied territory.

Addressing a press conference along with the executive committee and members of the Fellowship, Pr Shoukat Peter invited attention towards the incidents of harassment of Christian community at Ramnagar, Basohli, Nagri, Kathua etc and sought necessary action to stop such occurrences.

He said that since last few years, some organizations were continuously attacking the Churches, Church priests, Christian institutions, disturbing the prayers and worship which is totally against the rights of worship provided in the Constitution of India.

Political analysts believe that anti-Christian violence in India is religiously-motivated violence against Christians in India. Violence against Christians has been seen by Human Rights Watch as a tactic used by the right-wing Sangh Parivar organizations to encourage and exploit communal violence to meet their political ends. “The acts of violence include arson of churches, conversion of Christians by force, physical violence, sexual assaults, murders, rapes, and destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries,” they said adding anti-Christian violence increased dramatically since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started its rule at the center in March 1998. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are the most accused organizations for the violence.

Hundreds of incidents of violence against Christians are reported by various organizations every year. The Narendra Modi government in India continues to indiscriminately target the minorities with over 300 attacks in 2021 against Christians, making the country one of the worst for the community to live. As of 2020, USCIRF placed India as Tier-1 in minority persecution.

The Joint Churches Fellowship also threatened that if no action is taken by the authorities, the community will approach the National Human Rights Commission and national Minority Commission. “We know that common Indian citizens love Christians and appreciate services of the community. We will continue to serve the nation in the best way in future also, whatever these people do. But we wish to appeal to the Government again to take necessary steps so that these things do not change into communal unrest,” he said.

Stating that Christian community has always been a peace loving and serving the nation in the field of education, health services through hospitals, helping the helpless and mentally retarded people, Pr Shoukat Peter said that since last few years, some organizations were continuously attacking the Churches, Church priests, Christian institutions, disturbing the prayers and worship which is totally against the rights of worship provided in the Constitution of India.

“These organizations have never been heard standing against corruptions, rapes, inflation, people dying of drunkenness, poor people dying without treatments because their sole objective is communal disturbance,” he said and appealed Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to order necessary action for protection of the Christian community in IIOJK.

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Islamabad, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari said the United States was playing ‘Xinjiang Card’ against China while silent on Kashmir and Palestine. Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) organized a first-of-its-kind webinar on the ‘New Cold War? Playing the Xinjiang card against China” under its flagship event series, “Friends of Silk Road (FOSR)’.

The Webinar was attended by over 35 participants online and featured six speeches, including Dr. Ejaz Akram, Chairman of the Rehmat ul Lil Alameen Authority, Dr. Shireen Mazari, Federal Minister for Human Rights, Professor Li Xiguang, Director of the Center for Pakistan Cultural and Communication at Tsinghua University, Allama Tahir Ashrafi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Religious Affairs, Sabah Aslam, Founder and Executive Director of the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution, and Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee and the Pakistan-China Institute.

The panellists discussed how the ‘Xinjiang card’ is used by the Western world, particularly the United States, to achieve their foreign policy objectives of pressuring China. The speakers stressed that laws such as the ‘Uyghur forced labour bill’, and other legislation and policies concerning Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet, are part of a larger ‘China containment’ policy.

A brief video was played which discussed how the US took a politically-motivated decision to remove the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is recognized as a terror outfit by the United Nations, from its’ list of terror groups. It discussed the double standards on the part of the US to demonize China, despite being at war in the Muslim world for a couple of decades.

Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari, while speaking in the webinar said that the United States is involved in starting a New Cold War with China, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires greater international cooperation. She asserted that the United States has created laws, such as the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, to sanction China using the ‘Xinjiang card’. She questioned why the United States failed to take action against the genocide of innocent Kashmiris by the Indian occupation forces.

She asked why the US failed to speak out against the elimination of Palestinians from their homeland by the Israeli regime. She emphasized that the US is losing power internationally due to its imperialist approach. “It also created the military alliance, AUKUS, centred on countering China in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.

She said efforts to combat China in South Asia include massive military hardware influx and military cooperation. Dr. Shireen Mazari said Pakistan faces a challenge of whether it will move towards economic prosperity, which is now a central norm of Pakistan’s National Security policy, or whether it will be sucked into the militarization being pushed by the United States.

She said the rational route is to support the opening up of the world through international trade via the Silk Route, BRI, and CPEC projects. Dr. Shireen Mazari concluded that Muslims have suffered the consequences of the US War on Terror and of militarization and they cannot afford to go down this route. Chairman Senate’s Defense Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed stated that political and economic power in the world is shifting from the West to the East.

He agreed with Professor Jeffery Sachs who believes that the US has not been able to compete with China economically. He cited a study by Professor Graham Allison of Harvard University that China has displaced the US as the world’s biggest hi-tech manufacturer. He linked this with a recent report that China registered a growth of 8 percent in 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

He highlighted that despite their opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative, the US launched its own copycat project, Built Back Better World. He cited an article by Leslie H. Gelb in The New York Times titled ‘Breaking China Apart’, which stated that the US will ‘kindle separatism in China’ if it doesn’t fall in line and discussed the approach of Demonizing, Damaging, and Destabilizing countries. He highlighted a July 2020 survey by the Ash Centre of Harvard University which found that over 90 percent Chinese support the Communist Party of China, since it has provided the Chinese people with stability, continuity, peace, and stability.

Senator Mushahid Hussain concluded that while the US is engaged in creating cleavages, conflict, and encouraging confrontation, Pakistan will continue to support China on its core national interests such as Xinjiang, Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, South China Sea, and BRI. Special Aide to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and the Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi stated that bills or statements made by the United States regarding lack of religious freedom in Pakistan, China, and Saudi Arabia are baseless. He suggested that these statements are politically motivated, rather than fact-based.

Dr. Ejaz Akram stated that the issue of Xinjiang is a flashpoint, which is used by Western groups to rally certain parts of the Muslim world against China. Professor Li Xinguang discussed that the West fears the unity between the Confucian and Islamic Civilizations. Ms. Saba Aslam discussed that in international politics, the Western world, which has a colonial mindset, uses narratives and sanctions to demonize others.

Ambassador Masood Khalid commented that the West aims to release a domino effect in those regions of China, such as Xinjiang, which it perceives as vulnerable. Moreover, Gerald Mbanda from Rwanda presented the African perspective and the experience of Africa with colonialism. The dialogue was moderated by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute. A diverse audience of students, scholars, and the media took an active part in this webinar.

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Islamabad, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):The human rights conditions in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), are gradually attracting significant international attention, said Irshad Mahmood, Director-General, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Cell (JKLC), Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Irshad was addressing a round table on ‘Rising state repression in IIOJK’ organised by Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) in collaboration with JKLC here.

Referring to the report by an international law firm Stoke White and other reports by human rights groups, Mr Irshad said that Amit Shah and Ajeet Doval are key architects of present Indian Kashmir policy that completely relies on excessive use of power and repression to achieve political goals. He observed that by arresting noted Kashmiri journalists and human rights activists, India is clearly signaling that there is no space for any sort of activism.

Senator Zarqa Suharwardi said that the international community is very much aware of the situation in Kashmir but that is not enough. She said that under draconian laws that India has imposed in Kashmir, young boys are picked up from their homes and taken to far flung areas without informing their parents and family members. The same is being done with the bodies of shaheeds which are forcefully taken away from families.

Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairperson, Kashmir Institute of International Relations, suggested that there is much literature available on the human rights violations in Indian Kashmir which needs to be disseminated. In this regard, there is a great deal of responsibility on the Government of Pakistan as well as the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Barrister Nida Salam condemned the atrocities and violation of fundamental human rights taking place in Indian-held Kashmir adding that enforced disappearance, torture and rape are against international laws, commitments and obligations and India is in breach of all of them. Iftikhar Gillani said that ICRC used to meet the Kashmiri prisoners but now that practice has been discontinued. He stressed the need for ICRC to resume its engagement with Kashmiris imprisoned within IIOJK or in other parts of India.

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Bengaluru, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):The row surrounding the denial of permission to six girl students to classrooms for wearing hijab in the Government Girls Pre University College in Udupi district of the Indian state of Karnataka continues as students stick to their demand and have decided to continue their protest until they are allowed to attend classes wearing hijab.

On the other side, the state Education Minister B.C. Nagesh while calling wearing Hijab to College as “indiscipline’ also dubbed it a “political” move questioning whether learning institutions have turned into religious centres. The Hijab controversy took to nearly three-week-long stand-off between the Udupi district government college and Muslim students wanting to wear a hijab while attending classes. They protested at the college entrance with placards in unison.

The girl students are being denied entry into the classrooms for wearing hijab along with the uniform. Five of them are studying in II PUC and three students are studying I PUC. The students are turning down the demands of shunning hijab and are firm on their stand that until the government gives them permission to wear hijab and attend classes, they will sit outside the classrooms and continue to protest. They maintain that it is their religious freedom and constitutional right to wear hijab.

Talking to media, one of the protesting student, Aliya said, “We came to the college wearing a hijab. However, we have been barred once again from attending the classes,”. The media quoted Resham and wrote, “We’ve been barred for 20 days for wearing hijab. We want justice”, this being the reply to another student, Muskan Zainab’s question, “The Constitution gives us the right to wear a hijab, why is the college stopping that?.”

The protest further escalated after the state’s Education Minister BC Nagesh told media the practice of wearing a Hijab amounted to “indiscipline” and that schools and colleges were “not a place to practice dharma”.

The minister also told media that rules regarding the dress code had been in place since 1985 and that these protests only erupted 15-20 days ago and that the state government “has not fixed a uniform (dress) code” but urged the protesting students to nonetheless follow the rule.

Masood Manna, State Committee Member of Campus Front of India maintained that they are waiting for the government order. “It is a violation of the right of education and the right to practice religion. The students are not just fighting for themselves, but they are also fighting for coming generations to wear hijab while attending classes,” he said.

“If there is no solution given we will stage a protest. The students are facing mental torture. They are asked to go out by themselves or else they will be pushed out of classes if they attend classes wearing hijabs,” he said.

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