LAHORE, April 3: Speakers at a meeting of Hamdard Thinkers Forum have vehemently condemned the anti-Muslim riots in India and urged the Pakistan government to lodge a strong protest with India against the massacre of its Muslim population by Hindu extremist organizations.

The meeting at the Hamdard centre here on Wednesday with S.M. Zafar in the chair passed a resolution calling upon the Pakistan government to ask India to take a stern action against Vishva Hindu Preshad, RSS and other Hindu extremist organizations involved in the massacre of Muslim population of the Gujarat state. The resolution also asked the government to move America and other western powers to use their influence upon India to stop the genocide of its Muslim population and take action against Hindu extremists as terrorists because their acts of loot, plunder and killing of the hapless Muslims of Gujarat were more than acts of terrorism. The resolution suggested that the government should set up a separate cell under the ministry of law and human rights to record the events of anti-Muslims riots in India, the loss of lives, property and honour of the Muslims. The cell should also maintain record of the sad plight of the Indian Muslims and the violation of their human rights by the India security forces and Hindu extremist organizations.

The resolution also expressed its disappointment and dismay at the apathy and indifference of the OIC and Muslim countries all over the world to the woeful plight of the Indian Muslims, particularly the recent tenuous crimes committed against the innocent Muslim men, women and children. The resolution pointed out that the official policies of most of the Muslim countries did not truly reflect the feelings and the mood of their people who protest against the atrocities and excesses upon the Indian Muslims while their governments have maintained silence. This wide gulf between the people and the governments of the Muslim countries was dangerous which might lead to revolt against their governments. The resolution pointed that the riots in India had justified that Pakistan had been rightly established without which the Muslims would have faced the same trauma which the Indian Muslims were facing now.

Speaking on the occasion, S.M. Zafar said that no less than 5,000 Muslim had been killed in riots in Gujarat last month which were the worst in the history of India. He said horrifying details of the burning alive families and large groups of Muslims had been reported by the media and even Hindu journalists had strongly condemned the riots and expressed their anguish and resentment at the way the Muslim had been massacred. He said that the role of the OIC was much disappointing as they had failed to condemn the riots and had been discussing the definition of terrorism at the recent foreign ministers conference. He also condemned the recent law of POTO passed by the Indian parliament which, he said, gave a free hand to Indian security forces and Hindu extremists to kill the Muslims.