Istanbul, October 25, 2022 (PPI-OT): The Information Ministers of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference have strongly condemned the Indian brutalities in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Islamophobia and disinformation. Addressing the 12th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) in Istanbul, the Information Ministers underlined the need to enhance efforts for joint Islamic action in the field of media to combat Islamophobia and disinformation.
The ICIM adopted the omnibus resolution which, inter alia, strongly condemned the Islamophobic statements of officials of Indian ruling party, the rising wave of Islamophobia, hate speech and hate crimes motivated by the extremist Hindutva ideology under the RSS-BJP dispensation in India that has led to political, economic and social marginalization of Indian Muslims.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, who led Pakistan’s delegation, paid rich tribute to the steadfastness of the Kashmiri and Palestinian people. She called upon the media to show their sufferings at the hands of the Indian and Israeli occupation forces after visiting the occupied territories. She also suggested establishment of an intercessional Working Group on disinformation, misinformation and Islamophobia for sharing best practices and experiences in the OIC geography.
Marriyum Aurangzeb requested the OIC Secretary General to appoint a Special Envoy on Islamophobia and flagged the EU DisinfoLab’s “Indian Chronicles” uncovering a massive operation targeting international institutions and serving Indian interests to undermine primarily Pakistan by disinformation. She called for an immediate and complete lifting of military siege, restrictions on communication and release of political prisoners in IIOJK and immediate access for the international media outlets and correspondents in the territory.
The Pakistani Information Minister expressed serious concern at the persecution and arbitrary detention of Muslim journalists including Muhammad Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News, for his factual reporting on blasphemous statements by the office bearers of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and marginalization of Indian Muslims and urged the Indian government to stop persecution of Muslim minorities including journalists. The Republic of Turkiye hosted the 12th Session of the ICIM in Istanbul on 21-22 October, with the theme of “Combating Disinformation and Islamophobia in the Post-Truth Era”.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org