ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned attempts to demolish a historic mosque in India and urged the international community to take notice of the continued targeting of Muslims in the country.
The Foreign Office spokesperson, Sajjad Haider Khan, addressing a weekly media briefing, said that the incident is particularly concerning in the context of an increasingly troubling pattern of arbitrary actions affecting Muslim places of worship and their religious and cultural heritage in India.
Weekly Press Briefing by the Spokesperson @kachosajjadFSP
Pakistan’s views on demolition attempts on Shahi Mosque, Cultural Heritage & Religious Freedom in India pic.twitter.com/NhcSR8vKNj
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 1, 2026
“We also condemn the use of force against the members of the Muslim community who were peacefully protesting the attempted demolition,” he said.
He added that the invocation of administrative practices and rubber-stamping by the compliant judiciary cannot obscure the Islamophobic and Hindutva-driven pattern of prosecution of minorities manifested in threats to their places of worship, cultural heritage and religious practices.
He said Pakistan calls upon the international community to take immediate cognizance of the continued targeting of Muslims and their places of worship in India.
He said that, rather than creating conditions in which the religious heritage of minority communities is progressively placed under threat, Indian authorities must fulfill their obligations and ensure the protection of minorities, their places of worship, and their fundamental religious freedoms.
Three Pakistanis killed in Somalia operation
Foreign Office spokesperson added that three Pakistani nationals — Rafiullah Khan, Kashif and Syed Mahmood Ahmed Ansari — were among those killed during an operation to recover a ship from pirates off the coast of Somalia.
“Four other Pakistani crew members were injured in the operation and are currently receiving medical treatment,” he added.
Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan was deeply saddened by the deaths of five crew members during the recovery operation.
The spokesperson said the government of Pakistan is in contact with Somali authorities to ensure medical care for the injured, the repatriation of the bodies of those killed and the safe return of the Pakistani survivors.
The Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 was seized off Puntland on April 21 with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistanis. Puntland forces recovered the vessel this week after pirates killed five sailors, including three Pakistanis, and wounded four others.
Sajjad Haider Khan rejected allegations of Pakistani interference in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, saying Afghanistan is a safe haven for more than 36 terrorist organisations.
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Pakistan calls for Iran-US restraint
Responding to a question about the war between Iran and the United States, the spokesperson said Pakistan supports a rules-based international order and remains committed to implementing established international frameworks.
He said Pakistan has urged both the United States and Iran to exercise restraint and respect the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
The Pakistan-brokered Islamabad MoU, signed in June, provides the framework for ending the US-Iran conflict and pursuing a negotiated settlement.
Under the Islamabad MoU, Iran and the United States committed to halt military operations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and negotiate a comprehensive agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent ceasefire within 60 days.
Pakistan and Qatar later co-mediated the first round of high-level talks in Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21.
Pakistan is making efforts to revive talks under the Islamabad MoU framework to permanently end the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue.
Sajjad Haider Khan said outstanding issues should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, adding that a peaceful and amicable settlement of the dispute, facilitated by Pakistan, was the only viable way forward. He stressed that the resolution should serve the broader interests of international peace and security.
He said Pakistan attaches great importance to its longstanding and multifaceted strategic partnership with the United States and remains committed to further strengthening its longstanding diplomatic, economic and security ties with Washington.
FO reaffirms Indus Waters Treaty
Answering another question, the Foreign Office Spokesperson rejected India’s attempt to spread confusion through the misleading characterization of the Court of Arbitration’s recent award, which has unanimously and firmly affirmed that the Indus Waters Treaty remains in full force and is binding upon both parties, and that India must observe its treaty obligations, including those governing the design and operation of hydroelectric projects on the Western Rivers.
He said India cannot escape the binding awards of the Court of Arbitration through unilateral pronouncements or by smokescreening its disregard for inding treaty obligations and adjudicatory outcomes through concocted and misleading narratives.
Weekly Press Briefing by the Spokesperson @kachosajjadFSP
Indian MEA Spokesperson remarks regarding Court of Arbitration Award pic.twitter.com/dXu6vcZfbW
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 1, 2026
