ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday asked the world to take note of state-sponsored violence by Hindu extremist groups against Muslims in India and warned that ignoring these actions could have serious consequences.

“In Delhi carnage of Mus­lims, state-sponsored terror through police & RSS gangs is going to lead to radicalisation of the 200 mn Indian Mus­lims just as the Kash­miri youth has been radicalised through the oppression of Indian Occupation forces & deaths of almost 100,000 Kashmiris,” Mr Khan tweeted.

Around 42 people, mostly Muslims, were killed when mobs from Hindu extremist groups attacked Muslim nei­ghbourhoods in Delhi earlier in the week. The inc­i­dents, which happened during US President Donald Tru­mp’s visit to India, reportedly enjoyed tacit bac­king of the Indian law enfor­cement agencies, which either stood by or escorted the mobs during the attacks.

The violence was reminiscent of the 2002 Gujarat carnage, which too had taken place under Narendra Modi’s watch, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat.

It is believed that Hindu extremist groups carried out the attacks in Delhi in response to the widespread agitation against National Citizens Registry and Citizenship Amendment Act, which roiled India for weeks following the ratification of the controversial law in December by both houses of Indian parliament.

“I have been predicting that unless the international community intervenes these developments will have disastrous consequences not only for the region but eventually for the world also,” Mr Khan said.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2020