ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned the demolition of an ancient mosque in the Indian state of Haryana, and called on the United Nations (UN), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other human rights organizations, to hold India “accountable.”
Indian authorities razed Bilal Masjid in Haryana’s Faridabad area earlier this week. Pictures and videos purportedly showing the demolition operation were widely circulated on social media, with heavy machinery seen tearing down the building.
Attacks on members of religious and ethnic minorities and their places of worship have become frequent in India, whose government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accused of discriminating against the minority community in the Hindu-majority country. Modi denies the charge.
“Pakistan strongly condemns unjust demolition of Bilal Mosque in Haryana by Indian authorities, in consort with pliant judiciary under Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh regime,” Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, a spokesperson of the Pakistani Foreign Office, said in a statement, referring to the ruling party of India.
“The Hindutva driven BJP-RSS combine’s perpetual targeting of Muslims and their places of worship is indelible blot on the so-called ‘largest democracy’.”
The statement also recalled the Indian Supreme Court’s November 2019 judgment that allowed the construction of Ram Mandir at the site of the historic the 16th-century Babri Mosque, demolished in 1992 by Hindu mobs, triggering riots in which about 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed across India.
Court battles over the ownership of the site followed, ending in 1992 when the court awarded the bitterly contested religious site to Hindus.
“The Indian judiciary was also culpable in acquitting the criminals who had organized the destruction of the Babri Masjid in public glare,” the Pakistani statement said.
Muslims and their places of worship were attacked “with state complicity” during anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat and New Delhi in February 2020, it said.
The Pakistani foreign office also urged the international community, particularly the UN, OIC and other rights organizations, to “hold India accountable for systematic human rights violations of minorities, especially Muslims.”
Pakistan condemns demolition of ancient mosque, calls on UN, OIC to hold India ‘accountable’
https://arab.news/c53cs
Pakistan condemns demolition of ancient mosque, calls on UN, OIC to hold India ‘accountable’
- Indian authorities demolished ancient Bilal Masjid in Haryana’s Faridabad area earlier this week
- Foreign office says India’s targeting of Muslims "indelible blot on the so-called ‘largest democracy’"
Pakistan, ADB sign $730 loan agreements to boost SOE reforms, energy infrastructure
- Both sign $330 million Power Transmission Strengthening Project and $400 million SOE Transformation Program loan agreements
- Economic Affairs Division official says Transmission Project will secure Pakistan’s energy future by strengthening national grid’s backbone
KARACHI: Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday signed two loan agreements totaling $730 million to boost reforms in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and energy infrastructure in the country, the bank said.
The first of the two agreements pertains to the SOE Transformation Program worth $400 million while the second loan, worth $330 million, is for a Power Transmission Strengthening Project, the lender said.
The agreements were signed by ADB Country Director for Pakistan Emma Fan and Pakistan’s Secretary of Economic Affairs Division Humair Karim.
“The agreements demonstrate ADB’s enduring commitment to supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Pakistan,” the ADB said.
Pakistan’s SOEs have incurred losses worth billions of dollars over the years due to financial mismanagement and corruption. These entities, including the country’s national airline Pakistan International Airlines, which was sold to a private group this week, have relied on subsequent government bailouts over the years to operate.
The ADB approved the $400 million loan for SOE reforms on Dec. 12. It said the program seeks to improve governance and optimize the performance of Pakistan’s commercial SOEs.
Karim highlighted that the Power Transmission Strengthening Project will enable reliable evacuation of 2,300 MW from Pakistan’s upcoming hydropower projects, relieve overloading of existing transmission lines and enhance resilience under contingency conditions, the Press Information Department (PID) said.
“The Secretary emphasized that both initiatives are transformative in nature as the Transmission Project will secure Pakistan’s energy future by strengthening the backbone of the national grid whereas the SOE Program will enhance transparency, efficiency and sustainability of state-owned enterprises nationwide,” the PID said.
The ADB has supported reforms by Pakistan to strengthen its public finance and social protection systems. It has also undertaken programs in the country to help with post-flood reconstruction, improve food security and social and human capital.
To date, ADB says it has committed 764 public sector loans, grants and technical assistance totaling $43.4 billion to Pakistan.
