India today criticized Pakistan for its habit of fabricating imaginative stories about Islamophobia in neighboring countries, questioning how Islamabad's own brutal repression of Ahmadis or air-bombing campaigns during Ramadan against Afghanistan can be justified. Addressing the UN General Assembly on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, stated that India's western neighbor provides an excellent example of fabricating imaginative stories about Islamophobia in their region.
In a strong response, he also stated that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which India's western neighbor has systematically attempted to use against India, has repeatedly made false and baseless allegations against India. He emphasized that it is important for the UN to recognize the rising trend and dangers of weaponizing religious identity and using it for narrow political purposes by both state and non-state actors.
Highlighting that India is home to over 200 million Muslims, one of the largest populations of the community in the world, he said that Muslims in India, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, elect their own representatives to represent them.
