• FO calls reported move to collect financial, personal details of seminary teachers ‘grave violation of religious freedom’
• Says it is part of ‘institutionalised Islamophobia driven by Hindutva ideology’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned the reported profiling of mosques and their management committees in India-occupied Kashmir, saying the “blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief”.

The Foreign Office criticised the move in a statement after police in the occupied valley distributed forms to “collect” financial and personal details of mosques and seminaries, including mosque leaders and members of management committees, according to a report by Hindustan Times, which quoted local residents and Kashmiri leaders.

The action “reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalise the Muslim population of the occupied territory”, the FO said.

The forms included sections requiring seminary teachers and mosque leaders to provide details of their “Aadhaar cards, bank accounts, property ownership, social media handles, passport, ration card, driving licence, SIM cards and mobile phone model along with the IMEI”, Hindustan Times reported. It added that details regarding the “religious sect” of the mosques were also sought.

A lawmaker from Srinagar called it “an infringement of the religious freedom guaranteed under the Indian Constitution”, saying the move aimed to “control religion and mosques”, the report said.

“The forcible collection of personal details, photographs and sectarian affiliations of religious functionaries amounts to systematic harassment, aimed at instilling fear among worshippers and obstructing the free exercise of their faith,” the FO statement read.

‘Institutionalised Islamophobia’

“These actions form part of a broader pattern of institutionalised Islamophobia driven by the Hindutva ideology of the occupying Indian government,” the statement said, adding that the “targeting of mosques lays bare the discriminatory and communal character of these policies”.

The Foreign Office maintained that the “people of Jammu and Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practise their religion without fear, coercion or discrimination”.

“Pakistan will continue to stand in solidarity with them and will persist in raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance targeting Kash­miris,” the statement said.

In November, United Nations experts sounded the alarm over “serious human rights violations” in occupied Kashmir by the Indian government.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2026