Asaduddin Owaisi Slams Pakistan In Saudi: ‘Stop Using Islam To Justify Terror’

AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has firmly pushed back against Pakistan's repeated attempts to portray its conflict with India as a religious issue, asserting that India is home to over 240 million proud Muslims. Speaking in Saudi Arabia during an interaction, Owaisi emphasized that Indian Muslims are deeply rooted in the country and enjoy a strong presence, including many renowned Islamic scholars fluent in Arabic.

Owaisi is part of an Indian parliamentary delegation visiting Saudi Arabia as part of a broader global outreach following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. In his remarks, he criticized Pakistan for spreading misleading narratives in the Arab world and Muslim nations, claiming that Pakistan wrongly projects itself as the sole Muslim representative while falsely suggesting India is hostile to Muslims.

"It is unfortunate that Pakistan gives a wrong message to the Arab and Muslim world. There are 240 million proud Indian Muslims. Our scholars are among the best globally, highly proficient in Arabic. Pakistan's narrative that it is being targeted for being a Muslim nation is baseless," Owaisi stated. He also blamed Pakistan for fostering instability through its continued support for takfiri terrorist groups, asserting that peace and progress in South Asia depend on curbing such support.

Referring to the events of May 9 under Operation Sindoor, Owaisi highlighted the Indian military's targeted strikes on nine Pakistani airbases and terrorist headquarters, calling it a calculated warning rather than full retaliation. He also condemned the Pakistani military's ties to designated terrorists, pointing out a U.S.-listed terrorist leading prayers for dead militants and another seen alongside Pakistan's army chief.

Calling for Pakistan to be re-listed on the FATF grey list, Owaisi stressed this step was crucial to disrupting terror financing. He referenced the post-26/11 investigation when India provided evidence to Pakistan, which only acted when placed on the FATF grey list. He concluded that key figures like Sajid Mir remain unpunished for terrorism and were only convicted for unrelated financial crimes.

(with ANI input)