Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said the September 5 demolition of the place of worship reflected what Islamabad described as an “Islamophobic and Hindutva-driven campaign” against Islamic heritage. He urged the international community to take notice and called for authorities in India to be held accountable for actions affecting religious freedoms and minority cultural heritage.
The Saharanpur district administration demolished the mosque early on Saturday after a district court dismissed an appeal by its management committee against an earlier eviction order. Officials said the structure stood on government land within the District Magistrate’s office complex and had been declared an unauthorised occupation under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises Act, 1972.
The administration has maintained that the action followed legal procedure. Saharanpur City Magistrate Kuldeep Singh said the eviction order required removal of the premises and that demolition was undertaken after the mosque committee’s challenge failed. Senior police officers said preventive security measures were put in place to maintain public order during the operation.
The dispute arose after revenue authorities examined a complaint alleging that the mosque occupied government property. A City Magistrate’s order issued in July directed eviction and imposed a penalty of about Rs64.1 million for unauthorised occupation of roughly 315 square metres. The mosque committee appealed, but the District Judge’s court dismissed its petition on September 2.
Mosque custodian Tanveer Ahmed has disputed the administration’s interpretation of the orders. He said the mosque had stood at the site for generations and argued that the eviction process did not authorise immediate demolition. He also maintained that the committee still had legal remedies available and intended to approach the High Court.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the demolition represented a broader pattern of pressure on Muslim religious sites. Khan referred to the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, describing it as an enduring symbol of religious intolerance. Those assertions are Pakistan’s position and were not accepted by the Saharanpur administration, which has characterised Saturday’s operation as enforcement of a court-backed land order rather than action directed at a religious community.
The episode has also triggered criticism from opposition politicians in Uttar Pradesh. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi questioned why the mosque was demolished early in the morning and asked whether constitutional protections for religious freedom applied equally to Muslims.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the timing and manner of the demolition, while Saharanpur Congress MP Imran Masood described the action as an attack on constitutional protections and said the dispute would be pursued through higher courts.
Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan said police prevented her from travelling to Saharanpur and effectively placed her under house arrest in Kairana while the demolition was under way. Police deployed personnel around her residence amid concerns that political visits could heighten tensions. Authorities have not characterised the restrictions in the same terms as Hasan.
Opposition figures have argued that the committee should have been allowed time to seek relief from a higher court before the structure was removed. Officials rejected suggestions of haste, saying the district judge had already dismissed the appeal and that the administration was entitled to implement the eviction order without further delay.
The demolition has therefore developed into both a legal dispute over government land and a political argument over religious rights and administrative procedure. The district administration says the land records establish government ownership and that the mosque committee exhausted its appeal against the eviction order before the structure was removed.
