India should recall its ambassador from Egypt and play an active role in ensuring that peace prevails in the country, the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), an umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, said Monday.
Arguing that India has a policy of supporting democracy and human rights all over the world, several leaders representing different organisations demanded that the Indian ambassador be recalledk.
"The least India can do if it really believes in democracy is to recall the Indian ambassador from Cairo," political scientist Javed Jamil said in a press conference organized here Monday.
Agreed another leader and former parliamentarian Syed Shahabuddin said: "India should place an embargo on Egypt, recall the Indian ambassador from Cairo and take the issue to the United Nations."
He condemned the Indian government's lukewarm expression of "regret" toward the events in Egypt.
AIMMM president Zafarul-Islam Khan expressed "anguish" that the Indian government had not taken a strong stand against the military coup in Egypt which resulted in the overthrowing of President Mohamed Morsi in July despite its clear policy of supporting democracy and human rights all over the world.
The Muslim leaders visited the Egyptian embassy in Delhi to convey their feelings to the ambassador. A memorandum containing their thoughts and suggestion was presented to the ambassador to be forwarded to the Egyptian interim government.
Egypt has been undergoing a democratic transition since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak two years ago. In July this year, Morsi, the first democratically elected president, was deposed by the armed forces after only one year in office.
The constitution was suspended and an interim government was then installed. Following that, there has been widespread violence.
