Senior MP Blasts Washington for Provoking New Delhi into Crimes against Muslims

A senior member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said that the US policies have made New Delhi numb to the massacre of the Muslims in India.

News ID: 449434

Date: 05 March 2020 - 15:34

RNA - "Unfortunately, India is one of the countries that is under the influence of the US and the CIA and we have witnessed in many regions in India that the Indian police and army have acted against Muslims,” Abolfazl Hassan Beigi told Fars News Agency on Wednesday.

He also warned of Washington’s Islamophobia policies, noting that a large number of Indian people have converted to Islam in recent years.

Hassan Beigi expressed the hope that the Indian government would adopt independent policies towards Muslims as they seek peace and tranquillity based on Quranic guidelines.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday condemned a recent outburst of violence against Indian Muslims, urging New Delhi to protect all of its citizens regardless of their faith and ethnicity.

“Iran condemns the wave of organized violence against Indian Muslims,” Zarif said in a tweet, while highlighting amicable relations between Tehran and New Delhi

“For centuries, Iran has been a friend of India,” he said, adding, “We urge Indian authorities to ensure the wellbeing of ALL Indians & not let senseless thuggery prevail.”

“Path forward lies in peaceful dialogue and rule of law,” Zarif concluded.

Earlier, on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi voiced his country’s serious concern about the rising atrocities against Muslims in India, adding that Tehran is consistently following up the case.

“We are following the news coming from India with concern,” Mousavi said in his weekly presser.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is following up on the issue through many channels and we have heard that some Muslim countries have had some movements.”

“We know India as a country where all ethnicities and religions live peacefully side by side,” he said, adding, “We hope that violence against Muslims in India would come to an end.”

“Considering the wisdom of Indian authorities that we are aware of, the country will become a peaceful place for all ethnicities,” he said.

The worst anti-Muslim violence by Hindu nationalists began on the eve of a state visit by US President Donald Trump, infamous for his anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.

A police statement on Saturday, however, came without elaborating on whether the detainees were perpetrators of deadly violence on mosques and ordinary Muslim residence or Muslims defending their homes against indiscriminate attacks by Hindu nationalists with little intervention by police officers and other government security forces.

Over 40 people were declared killed by Hindu mobs last week, with hundreds more reported injured amid news accounts of largely useless police intervention to end the violence and meager international criticism of New Delhi’s failure to protect its minority Muslim population.

The violence began amid widespread protests across India over a citizenship law that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government introduced in December offering a path to Indian citizenship for six religious groups from neighboring countries, specifically excluding Muslims.

Critics insist the law is discriminatory, coming in the wake of other severe government measures against the country’s Muslim population such as withdrawal of autonomy for Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir province that has intensified discord across India about the future of its 200 million Muslims.

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