New Delhi: A weekly Urdu newspaper in Pakistan has published a report abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother. This comes amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours ever since the Pulwama terror attack in February.
Targeting PM Modi, the newspaper, learnt to be published from Karachi, quotes news reports in India to buttress its point. The Pakistani report, published on 21 March, said that Modi continues to threaten Pakistan every day.
The abusive report came to light after Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, who lives in France, posted it on Twitter. Siddiqui stays in Paris since he started receiving threats of kidnapping.
#Wtf!!! Is this for real?! A headline in an Urdu newspaper in Pakistan refers to @narendramodi as the son of a prostitute. The govt must stop such hate mongering and take action. pic.twitter.com/jPU8bW3ZDd
— Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) March 29, 2019
Siddiqui said the Pakistan government must take action and stop such hate-mongering.
Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat told ThePrint the newspaper ‘Parcham’ is either published from Karachi or Faisalabad.
Contact numbers listed on the newspaper’s website could not be reached for a response.
“Usage of this kind of language in the name of journalism is beyond repulsive. If it was printed and distributed, this goes on to show that the government has no regulation on small vernacular newspapers that can get away with any kind of hate speech”, Inayat said.
Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
India responded to the attack through air strikes, targeting the main training camp of the JeM in Balakot outside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan retaliated with a failed attempt to target military installations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Since then, Pakistan has put its military on high alert.
Also read: Chaiwala to Nalayak: How Pakistan TV anchors are describing Narendra Modi
This article has been updated to source the correct news reports from India.
An earlier version of the report said Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui lives in the UK. He lives in France. The error has been corrected.