India today called out Pakistan for its habit of fabricating imaginative tales of Islamophobia in neighbouring countries, questioning how Islamabad’s own brutal repression of Ahmadiyyas or air-bombing campaigns during Ramzan against Afghanistan can be characterised as. Addressing the UN General Assembly commemoration of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN P Harish has said that India’s western neighbour is an excellent example of fabricating imaginative tales of Islamophobia in their neighbourhood.

In a strong retort, he also said that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which India’s western neighbour has systematically attempted to weaponise against India, has repeatedly made false and baseless allegations against India. He stressed that it is important for the UN to take note of the rising trend and dangers of weaponising religious identity and instrumentalising it to serve narrow political ends by state and non-state actors alike.

Underlining that India is home to more than 200 million Muslims, one of the largest populations of the community in the world, he said Muslims in India, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, elect their own representatives to speak for them.