On Eid, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif brings up the concerns of Palestine and Kashmir.
While extending greetings on the auspicious occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif once again outrageously equated Kashmir to Palestine.
The Pakistani premier made the provocative remark in a lengthy post on X, formally known as Twitter. In his post, Sharif claimed that Kashimirs and Palestinians are facing atrocities of the “worst kind”.
“On the joyous occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, I would like to express my felicitations to my fellow countrymen residing both at home and abroad, as well as to the entire Muslim community,” the premier of the cash-strapped nation wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.“I also urge Muslims around the world to remember their Palestinian and Kashmiri brothers and sisters who are facing the worst kind of atrocities of the occupation forces and they will be constrained to enjoy the joys of Eid,” he added.
This is not the first time Sharif equated the two regions ever since he commenced his second stint as the Prime Minister of the country.
In his victory speech in the Pakistani parliament after being elected for the prime ministerial post, Sharif took out time to raise the two issues. “Let’s all come together […] and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” he said.
In February, India gave a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan after the country brought up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations. While exercising its “Right to Reply, India called out the country’s “abysmal human rights records”.
While addressing the matter at the High-Level Segment of the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council, First Secretary Anupama Singh pointed out that Pakistan has institutionalised the “systematic persecution of its minorities”.
“With regard to the extensive references to India made by Pakistan, we note that it is deeply unfortunate for the Council’s platform to have once again been misused to make patently false allegations against India,” Singh said at the UNHRC session.
“The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and the constitutional measures taken by the Government of India to ensure socio-economic development and good governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are matters internal to India,” she added.
The plight of minorities in Pakistan
While Pakistan continues beating the drum about the situation in Gaza, it easily glosses over the atrocities minorities are facing within its own territory.
In the span of a few months, several places of worship that belonged to minority groups like Christians, Hindus and even Ahmediyyas in Pakistan have been demolished by radical groups in the country.
In August 2023, the Pakistani police arrested around 129 people who were involved in the vandalisation of five churches in Faisalabad.
In several instances, radical groups have accused minorities of committing blasphemy which is a punishable offence and can lead to a death sentence.
Hence, the situation of minorities in the country continues to remain deplorable.
