The action to demolish the shops follows sectarian clashes following the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.
In India 's business hub city of Mumbai , authorities have demolished several makeshift Muslim shops.
According to the French news agency AFP, the move follows sectarian clashes following the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.
There were minor clashes in parts of Mumbai on Sunday, including an incident where Hindus chanting religious slogans marched through a Muslim neighborhood on the outskirts of a big city like Mumbai.
No one was seriously injured in the clashes, according to local media, but by Tuesday authorities had brought in excavators (a machine used for digging) to knock down the fronts of more than a dozen Muslim shops in the area.
Another 40 shops were demolished on Muhammad Ali Road in the evening the next day. The road is the city's main thoroughfare and the center of local Muslim trade, where clashes took place over the weekend.
"We cleared the road where some makeshift shops etc. were removed," said a local municipal officer on condition of anonymity.
Many traders from all religions often set up temporary shops out of canvas and wood to protect their businesses and shoppers from the city's scorching sun and heavy monsoon rains.
Municipal officials told local media that the drive was a 'routine' operation. It was planned ahead of Sunday's clashes and was aimed at removing encroachments and facilitating pedestrian traffic.
'Bulldozer Justice'
So-called 'bulldozer justice' has become a common tool of local authorities in India to punish suspected criminals by demolishing their properties.
Human rights organizations have condemned the practice as an illegal practice of collective punishment that disproportionately targets the country's Muslim minority.
"This week's campaign in Mumbai represents a policy of arbitrary and punitive demolition of Muslim property following incidents of religion-based violence," Amnesty International's Akar Patel said in a statement.
In recent years, several Indian states ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have launched a campaign to demolish the homes of people accused of participating in anti-government protests.
Most of the people targeted in these campaigns are Muslims.
Elsewhere in India, authorities say demolitions are a legal process because they only target construction without official approval.
According to the victims, this claim is controversial. They say they are not given legal notice before demolition orders to challenge it.
Sunday's clashes took place on the occasion of the inauguration of a new Hindu temple of Lord Rama in the northern city of Ayodhya. After the inauguration of the temple, a procession was also celebrated in Mumbai.
The Ram temple is built on the site of a centuries-old mosque demolished by Hindu extremists in 1992.
In the past, the demolition of a mosque has been one of the deadliest incidents in post-independence India.
Local media say at least 13 people have been arrested for taking part in the weekend clashes.
Eye-witness account of Army Chief's exhortation to avoid 'evil media'
All the people present at the youth conference organized by the Higher Education Commission were not aware of the Army Chief's arrival until he arrived, but as soon as he entered the hall, the entire hall erupted with enthusiastic applause.
Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar and Army Chief General Asim Munir presenting a gift to a participating youth in the National Youth Conference titled 'Youth, Axis of National Unity' on behalf of the Higher Education Commission on January 24, 2024 at Islamabad Convention Center. (PID)
Seeing Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir and Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar Haq Kakar together at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad on Wednesday (January 24), we thought that there might be some tough questions today, which once again social media. will be adorned.
This is the story of a National Youth Conference organized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the title 'Youth, Axis of National Unity', in which students from various universities and colleges across the country participated.
All the people present in the hall did not know about the arrival of the Army Chief until he arrived, but as soon as he entered the hall, the entire hall erupted with enthusiastic applause. At that time there were more than two thousand male and female students.
Prime Minister Anwar Haq Kakar and Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir were the special guests of this convention. He also conducted a regular youth question and answer session which was the most interesting and perhaps thrilling part of the two-day event as almost everyone was familiar with the first questions to be asked of the caretaker Prime Minister.
Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed welcomed the guests in his address. Probably due to protocol, the first address was given by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, which was eagerly awaited by almost everyone. Along with the invitation of the host, slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' and 'Pak Fauj Zindabad' were heard in the hall, to which the Army Chief also gave a vigorous response.
Dressed in military uniform, General Asim Munir asked the youth at the beginning of the speech whether I should deliver the speech in Urdu or in English. On which almost all the students said that our national language is Urdu so you should speak in Urdu only. This question of the army chief was appreciated by the students with their loud applause.
At the beginning of his speech, the army chief expressed his happiness and said: 'I feel happy to address the future architects and Shaheen of Iqbal.'
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar himself seems to be a big supporter of dialogue with the youth. For this reason, he goes to almost most important educational institutions of the country and directly talks to the students. There is a strong possibility that he may have organized this dialogue of the students with the Army Chief.
It was certainly a matter of pride for every youth in the hall that the caretaker Prime Minister and the Army Chief were there to answer their questions. This is a great step which will at least give the youth the courage to ask questions and the rulers to give answers.
General Asim formally started with this poem:
This nation does not need a sword
Whose youths are the very form of steel
The Army Chief asked the question to the youth that what was the purpose of creating Pakistan? Everyone gave different answers to this. General Asim Munir said that the purpose of creating Pakistan was that 'our religion, culture and civilization were different from the Hindus in every respect, but today we celebrate days like Father's Day and Mother's Day with enthusiasm in the West, so why is this so?'
There was a few moments of silence in the hall as if everyone realized that there was a mistake, after which the hall echoed with applause supporting General Asim.
He added: 'The youth of our country are the guardians of the bright traditions of this country and nation, the interpretation of the dreams of Iqbal and Quaid.'
The army chief spoke on various topics throughout his speech and the most beautiful thing was the reference to Quranic verses, which he was giving along with everything he said, which was probably enough to attract the youth to his words.
When he mentioned the recent Pakistan-Iran tension, the excitement of the hall was palpable and thus once again 'Long live the Pakistan Army' and thunderous applause arose. It was then that for a few moments it felt like we were all one nation, but the question session was yet to come.
When the army chief was talking, an interesting aspect for everyone was that what is his view on politics?
The most interesting occasion in this regard was when the Caretaker Prime Minister was asked a question about 'Political Instability', on which General Asim Munir asked the questioning girl that first you tell me what 'Political Instability' is. who are
At this the whole hall erupted in laughter as there was no reply from the other side. When it came to the tenure of Tehreek-e-Insaf government, he blamed it all on social media.
Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir and Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar addressed the Pakistan National Youth Convention 2024 in Islamabad on Wednesday (Prime Minister's Office).
He said that politicians only fight for power, so on February 8, you should choose your representatives.
From the speech of the Army Chief, it seemed that he was quite frustrated with the polarization or division of the nation, especially due to social media, and he wanted to get the youth out of it.
For this reason, he termed social media as 'evil media', where news spreads like wildfire without research. He also referred to Quranic verses on this.
His talk on freedom of expression, social media was apparently for the politically astute youth that 'Our religion and constitution gives us freedom of expression with few 'moderate' restrictions, so the state for the sake of one's personal interest. Don't stake your survival.'
In this entire event, the caretaker prime minister also answered a few questions of the youth, but at the same time, he also said that such questions are deliberately asked to me so that later they will be viral on social media, but he clarified that ' Honor and humiliation are in the hands of Allah.'
It was clear from this that while allowing open questions was enough to build self-confidence among young people, it was equally important to maintain a margin of discernment.
In this event, where there was an opportunity to address the two big personalities of the country, it was also clear what they expect from us about the future of this country and from us living in the realm of tolerance, civilization and religion. Also expected to work.