Pakistan has gone bonkers over India’s Citizenship Amendment Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to members of minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have fled due to religious persecution. These communities include Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, all of whom are in minority, and whose numbers have fallen drastically in each of the three countries.
The country has condemned the bill as “regressive and discriminatory”, and called interference in the matters of neighboring countries. “We condemn the legislation as regressive and discriminatory, which is in violation of all relevant international conventions and norms, and a glaring attempt by India to interfere in the neighbouring countries with malafide intent,” reads the statement released by Pakistan’s foreign office.
The Pakistani media and the government were on the same side in the matter of Citizenship Amendment Bill. “We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of int human rights law & bilateral agreements with Pak. It is part of the RSS “Hindu Rashtra” design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi Govt,” tweeted Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran khan.
We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of int human rights law & bilateral agreements with Pak. It is part of the RSS "Hindu Rashtra" design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi Govt. https://t.co/XkRdBiSp3G
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 10, 2019
Pakistan’s most prominent English daily- Dawn- published a series of articles, which were critical of the CAB- 2019. Dawn published a series of articles, including one from Indian publication ThePrint, titled, “India’s clamour for NRC not different from the notion that more Muslims mean threat to Hindu society”, written by Shreenandini Mukhopadhyay.
Links of Dawn articles are given below:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1520810/thousands-in-india-protest-citizenship-bill-excluding-muslims
https://www.dawn.com/news/1508472/minister-promises-non-muslim-refugees-indian-citizenship
Other publications like The Express Tribune published that widespread protest in going on in India, against the CAB-2019.
Express Tribune links are mentioned below:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2114811/1-pm-imran-slams-indias-controversial-citizenship-bill/
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2114828/3-us-commission-seeks-sanctions-indias-amit-shah-leaders/
Not just the newspapers, in fact the news channels also carried out stories on the CAB.
This is not the first time Pakistan has had a meltdown. The officials of Islamic Republic of Pakistan went completely insane after the Modi government introduced the bill in the parliament to abolish Article 370 and 35A as well as bifurcate the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
“The move to abolish Article 35A has left India’s so-called democratic face open to the world. The Kashmir leadership does not agree with India’s decision. India has resurrected the Kashmir problem with its decision,” said Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Let us not forget that Pakistan also went absolutely bonkers after the Supreme Court of India gave the Ram mandir verdict in favour of the Hindus.
It is important to note that Hindu persecution has become an almost accepted norm in Pakistan. News cycle is filled with stories of abduction, murder, rape of Hindus in the country. Recently a Hindu girl was raped and murdered in he country. We cannot forget the incident that happened last year in the Sindh province where a young Hindu girl, Ravita Meghwar was forcibly converted and married to a Muslim man.
Even the minority Christians are not spared. Not very long ago, the world witnessed the anti-minority hatred that runs through the veins of the mainstream Muslim majority Pakistan population. The attacks on the Christian community include an attack on a church in Quetta in December 2017 that killed nine people and injured 57. A suicide attack targeting Christians celebrating Easter at a Lahore playground in March 2016 left 70 dead and more than 340 wounded.
The history of persecution of Hindus in the SAARC countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan begs the question if India, the motherland of Hindus, would not grant protection to Hindus then who will?
According to the 2011 census report, the population of minorities in India has increased in fact. On the other hand, the population of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh had reduced considerably.
The Modi government has rightfully stepped in and decided to grant citizenship status to the minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill not only grants them relief from persecution but also provides them the respect they deserve, which the neighbouring countries have not provided them, unfortunately. It is a moral duty of the nation to protect and shelter the persecuted Hindus of the world. India is the natural home for the Hindus and CAB seeks to do precisely this duty.
