ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called upon the world leaders to crack down on online hate speech and Islamophobia following the deadly truck attack in London-Ontario, Canada.
“Everyone is shocked in [Pakistan], because we saw the family picture, and so a family being targeted like that has had a deep impact in Pakistan,” Prime Minister Khan told the CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton in an interview posted on its website on Saturday. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is the main news outlet in Canada.
The prime minister said the recent pattern of domestic terror in Western countries demanded a heightened focus on online radicalization. The prime minister to a question about online radicalization said “I think there should be a very strict action against this.”
“When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be an international action against them,” he stressed.
Four-member of Pakistani family were mercilessly mauled down and a nine-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when they were run over by a pickup truck on last Sunday evening.
Canadian police say the family was targeted because they were Muslim. The family moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007.
After the tragic incident, the prime minister took to his twitter handle to express his feelings. “Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario.” This condemnable act of terrorism revealed the growing Islamophobia in Western countries, he said, adding “Islamophobia needs to be countered holistically by the international community”.
Prime minister Khan further told CBC that he had raised the issue with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, describing him as a leader who understood the importance of fighting online hate and Islamophobia.
The prime minister urged other leaders to make such commitment. “The world leaders, whenever they decide upon taking action, this will be dealt with,” he opined.
The prime minister reiterated that there was not enough motivation and that some international leaders, or leaders in the Western countries, actually did not understand this phenomenon.
The prime minister further said that he “mostly agrees” with Trudeau and his position on extremism, but also expressed concern with some Canadian laws that he believed were contributing to Islamophobia.–APP
