ISLAMABAD: The “xenophobic” remarks made by the home secretary of the United Kingdom regarding the abuse of vulnerable white girls allegedly by British men of Pakistani heritage have been met with severe criticism from the Foreign Office.
Speaking to Sky News, Suella Braverman, who is of Indian origin, stereotyped British-Pakistani men as members of so-called grooming gangs who are involved in “pursuing, raping, drugging and harming vulnerable English girls.”
She suggested that British-Pakistani men “hold cultural values totally at odds with British values” and view women in a “demeaning and illegitimate way.”
These comments were made despite a 2020 Home Office report that found most child sexual abuse gangs in the UK are made up of white men under 30 and that there was no evidence to suggest grooming gangs were disproportionately Asian or black.
Braverman, who is fighting to save her job after she admitted breaching security rules, has used this kind of dangerous and inflammatory language before, not least when she warned in November of an “invasion” of migrants on the southern coast of Britain.
Her comments have triggered controversy and drawn criticism from around the world.
In her weekly press briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson for Foreign Office, described Braverman’s comments as “discriminatory and xenophobic,” observing they painted a “highly misleading picture signalling the intent to target and treat British Pakistanis differently.”
Baloch noted the UK home secretary failed “to take note of the systemic racism and ghettoisation of communities and omits to recognize the tremendous cultural, economic and political contributions that British Pakistanis continue to make in British society.”
She also expressed deep concerns over the “alarming rise” of violence against Muslims in India.
The violence occurred during the Hindu festival of Ram Navami, commemorating the birth of the Hindu deity Ram, and led to communal riots in several Indian states last week. According to local media reports, clashes between Hindus and Muslims resulted in more than a dozen injuries and the destruction of vehicles, homes, and shops.
The spokesperson for the Foreign Office attributed the rise in Islamophobic and hateful acts against Muslims in India to the country’s majoritarian Hindutva agenda and anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric prevalent in Indian politics.
Pakistan also called on India to take “demonstrable steps” to curb the rising tide of Islamophobia, provide protection to Muslims for practising their faith, and hold those responsible for such hateful acts accountable.
