Pakistan summons India's envoy in Islamabad over Karnataka hijab row
Islamabad, February 10: Pakistan has summoned India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad over the current hijab row in Karnataka, informed a media report.
According to a report by Daily Pakistan, the Foreign Office summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and voiced the government's "grave concern and condemnation" of the "deeply reprehensible act" of banning Muslim students from wearing hijab in Karnataka.
"The charge d' affaires was urged to convey to the Government of India, Pakistan's extreme concern over the anti-hijab campaign, being spearheaded by RSS-BJP combine in Karnataka, which is part of its larger exclusionist and majoritarian agenda aimed at dehumanizing and demonizing Muslim women," the Foreign Office's spokesperson said, according to ARY News.
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The Hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU College in Karnataka's Udupi district, when some students claimed they were prohibited from attending classes since they donned hijab (a headscarf worn by Muslim women).
As the Hijab row in Karnataka escalated, students of different colleges on Monday arrived that Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles.
The pre-university education board issued a circular declaring that students can only wear the school's approved uniform and that no other religious practises are permitted in institutions.
Following the protests, all universities under the Department of Higher Education (DCTE) and colleges under the Department of Collegiate and Technical Education have declared a three-day holiday from February 9 to 11.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, rallies were staged in several places in the city in favour of wearing the hijab, while a group of women also held a demonstration and showed their solidarity with the girl students of Karnataka. Some protesters chanted slogans such as "we want justice and we support hijab."
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-PTC News
