India condemns Kabul gurdwara attack at UN

India condemned in the strongest terms the recent "cowardly attack" at the Sikh temple in Kabul, Afghanistan and said it's time that the UN Member States condemned hatred against non-Abrahamic religions as well.
Islamic State attacked Karte Parwan Gurdwara in which two people were killed and several others got injured. Gunmen had tried to storm the temple and all were killed after a standoff that lasted several hours.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India's Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti raised concerns about the "selective" efforts to combat religiophobias.
"And on 18th June, a couple of days ago and on the very day we commemorated the International Day for countering hate speech, we saw yet another tragic example of this against Sikh religion, this time in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Gurudwara Karte Parwan was attacked, desecrated and damaged. We condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly dastardly attack where lives were tragically lost," said Tirumurti at the informal High-Level Meeting to mark the commemoration of the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech.
"It's time that UN Member States condemned hatred against non-Abrahamic religions as well and stop from being selective in combating religiophobias. There cannot be double standards on religiophobias if you truly want to combat hate," he added.
The Indian envoy said hate speech is the antithesis of peace, tolerance and harmony.
He said India has time and again emphasised that combating religiophobia can never succeed if it continues to be exclusionary and remains restricted to one or two religions only, while completely ignoring the rise in hatred and discrimination against non-Abrahamic religions including Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.

(ANI)