Hawzah News Agency- Calling on the United Nations (UN) to take notice of the recent blasphemous statements made by Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) officials in India, Pakistan has stated that the organization’s silence could be taken as complicity, which would encourage further bigotry.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held a telephone call with UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid, where the former apprised the latter of the derogatory and offensive remarks made by two senior officials of India’s ruling party BJP, against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

Noting that such willful and deliberate provocation had deeply hurt the sentiments of billions of Muslims around the world, the Foreign Minister urged the PGA to take notice of this concerning development amid a sharp rise in hate speech and Islamophobia in India.

Addressing the muted response of the Indian leadership on the incident, the Foreign Minister again underscored that silence on such matters could be mistaken for complicity, and could lead to further incitement to violence, communal discord and hate incidents.

Acknowledging the UN’s positions on hate speech and Islamophobia, Bilawal said that he expected that the forum of the United Nations would be utilized for constructive debate among member states.

The PGA stressed upon the important role of the General Assembly, and the need for the membership to work together on these issues.

Referring to the conversation in a tweet, Bilawal Bhutto said that he had a ‘useful discussion’ with the PGA, and he had emphasized the ‘important role of UN for constructive dialogue and collective efforts to combat hate speech and Islamophobia.’