ISLAMABAD:Pakistan on Monday condemned the highly irresponsible remarks by BJP politician and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh about taking back ‘Sindhu’- the region around the Indus River in southern Pakistan.

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while responding to the media questions regarding the remarks made by the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh about taking back ‘Sindhu’ (the region around the Indus river in Southern Pakistan), said: “We condemn the highly irresponsible remarks made by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a key member of India’s ruling dispensation and a follower of the bigoted Hindutva ideology, at the National Sindhi Convention in Lucknow.

She said that it is equally condemnable that the so-called reclamation of the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ has been cited by the UP Chief Minister as a template for reclaiming the region that constitutes part of Pakistan. History bears witness that a Hindu supremacist mob had brazenly demolished the historic Babri Mosque on 6 December 1992 to take back the claimed birthplace of Lord Rama in Ayodhya, she recalled.

Ms Zahra said that clearly, the Chief Minister’s provocative remarks are inspired by the gratuitous assertion of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (undivided India). These remarks manifest a revisionist and expansionist mindset that seeks to subjugate the identity and culture of not only India’s neighbouring countries but also its own religious minorities. They also reflect a perverse view of history.

The Foreign Office Spokesperson that it is a matter of grave concern that such ideas are being increasingly peddled by individuals belonging to the BJP-RSS combine to further their divisive and parochial political agenda. Instead of nurturing hegemonic and expansionist ambitions, the Indian leaders should resolve disputes with neighbouring countries, and work with them to build a peaceful and prosperous South Asia, she concluded.

According to a India Today report, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said if Shri Ram Janmabhoomi can be taken back after 500 years, there is no reason why we cannot take back “Sindhu” – the Sindh province, now in Pakistan.

According to a press statement issued by the state government, the Chief Minister while addressing the two-day National Sindhi Convention, said, “After 500 years, a grand temple of Lord Ram is being constructed in Ayodhya. Ramlala will be seated again in his temple by the Prime Minister in January.”