Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removes niqab from Dr. Nusrat Parveen’s face during a government function in Patna. Photo: SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has strongly condemned the outrageous act of public humiliation and religious insult after India’s Bihar chief minister was seen forcibly removing a Muslim woman’s hijab and niqab at a government function, sparking outrage across the region and raising fresh questions about the treatment of religious minorities in India.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari expressed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the Bihar Chief Minister’s conduct. He said the incident involving Dr. Nusrat Parveen, constituted public humiliation and an unacceptable assault on a woman’s religious and personal rights.
Leghari said that forcibly removing a woman’s veil was “deeply deplorable and unacceptable”, stressing that mocking or trivializing such an act only revealed a worrying pattern of disregard for Muslim women’s rights in India.
He expressed full solidarity with Dr. Nusrat Parveen and said the episode betrayed a wider erosion of religious freedoms that should worry the international community.
The Union minister demanded an unconditional apology from the Bihar chief minister and warned that violations of religious freedom and human dignity could not be dismissed as humor or spectacle.
He said the incident served as a stark reminder to the global community to take note of the growing intolerance faced by religious minorities in India.
It is pertinent to note that a day earlier, on Monday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed certificates to doctors at a government function in Patna. When AYUSH doctor Nusrat Parveen entered the stage to receive hers, Kumar motioned for her to remove her niqab. Before she could react or consent, he reached out and pulled it aside, exposing her mouth and chin.
The sudden gesture seemed to leave Parveen visibly unsettled. While two men on stage, including Bihar Home Minister Samrat Choudhary, made tentative attempts to intervene, the moment was largely dried up with laughter, as if it was an awkward misstep rather than an intrusion.
Footage of the incident quickly sparked outrage in both India and Pakistan, leading to a wave of criticism from social media users, activists and commentators. Calls have mounted for an apology and the resignation of the 74-year-old prime minister, with many arguing that the episode was not an isolated incident and reflected the growing normalization of disrespect towards Muslims in India.
Pakistan’s Human Rights Council has also condemned Kumar’s “very shameful, reprehensible and inhuman act” and called on the Indian government to conduct an immediate, transparent and impartial investigation.
“This incident is not just an insult to an individual, but an open attack on human dignity, religious freedom, women’s personal autonomy and basic human rights, which is unacceptable in any civilized, democratic and so-called secular state,” the council said in a statement published on X.
“The United Nations, the General Assembly and international human rights organizations take strong note of this incident and demand accountability from India for the violation of religious freedom.”
“Furthermore, we demand that the Indian authorities formally apologize to the affected woman on both a personal and official level and ensure robust legal and institutional measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” the statement added.
