Imran Khan Compares India to ‘Nazi Germany’ in Fresh Attack on CAB

Earlier, the Pakistan foreign ministry had said that the Bill is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

File image of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

(Photo: AP)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, 12 December, accused the Indian government of furthering a “Hindu supremacist agenda” and said the world “must step in before it is too late.”

In a series of tweets, Khan referred to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill which aims to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan facing religious persecution in their respective countries.

“India, under (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, has been moving systematically with its Hindu Supremacist agenda,” Khan said in a tweet.

This agenda, “accompanied by threats to Pakistan under a nuclear overhang, will lead to massive bloodshed and far-reaching consequences for the world,” he said, adding that the “world must step in before it is too late”.

Commenting on Khan's remarks, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said that Pakistan should focus on its treatment of minorities rather than commenting on India's internal matters.

Imran’s Second Attack on CAB

Khan also weighed-in on the topic soon after the Pakistan foreign ministry had released its statement condemning the Bill after its passage in the Lok Sabha on 9 December.

Khan had then said that it violates all norms of international human rights law and bilateral agreements with Pakistan.

“It is part of the RSS’ ‘Hindu Rashtra’ design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi government.”

Imran Khan, Pakistan Prime Minister

‘Complete Violation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights’

After the Lower House of Parliament had passed the Bill, the Pakistan foreign ministry released a statement condemning the "discriminatory legislation."

In the statement, dated 9 December, the ministry said that the Bill – that offers Indian nationality to non-Muslims of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – is premised on a falsehood and is in complete violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants on elimination of all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief.

The Pakistan ministry also said that the new Bill is against many bilateral agreements signed between the two neighbouring countries. “Particularly the one concerning security and rights of minorities in the respective countries,” the statement said.

The ministry further gave four points as to why it opposes the Indian government's move to cut down the time to get Indian citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from the three south Asian nations:

1. The latest legislation is another major step towards the realisation of the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra,' idealised and relentlessly pursued by the right-wing Hindu leaders for several decades. It is driven by a toxic mix of an extremist ‘Hindutva' ideology and hegemonic ambitions in the region. It is also a clear manifestation of interference in the internal matters of neighboring countries based on religion, which we reject completely.
2. Equally reprehensible are India's pretensions of casting itself as homeland for minorities allegedly persecuted in the neighboring countries. The massacre of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat, the Samjhauta Express carnage, innumerable lynchings by cow-vigilantes, repugnant schemes like Ghar wapsi and ‘Love Jihad', and violence against Christians, Sikhs, Jains and even low-caste Dalits are the hallmarks of the new India ruled by the proponents of the extremist Hindu ideology. The continuing persecution of 8 million unarmed and innocent Kashmiris, collectively incarcerated and penalized by 900,000 Indian occupation forces, goes to further illustrate this blatantly extremist mindset.
3. This Indian legislation has also, once again, exposed the hollowness of the claims to ‘secularism' and ‘democracy'. Pushed by the majoritarian agenda, it has revealed to the world the RSS-BJP exclusivist mentality and the true extent of their animus against the Muslims.
4. 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 neighboring countries with malafide intent.