Fanatics exist everywhere, they should not be linked with any religion: PM Imran
PM was talking at a high level roundtable discussion on "Countering Hate Speech" in New York.
NEW YORK (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that unfortunately terrorism was linked to Islam after September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
Speaking at a high level roundtable discussion on "Countering Hate Speech" jointly organized by Pakistan and Turkey at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday, he said that the leaders of western countries have linked extremism and terrorism with Islam and no one has ever linked Hindu religion with terrorism.
The prime minister called for effective measures to counter hate speech and Islamphobia.
Noting the growing incidence of discrimination and violence based on religion and belief, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of addressing both the drivers and consequences of these phenomena.
He cautioned against attempts to denigrate revered personalities and scriptures cloaked in the right to freedom of expression and opinion.
Imran Khan said marginalisation of any community leads to radicalisation. He added that religion has nothing to do with terrorism.
Earlier, while addressing the delegation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on the sidelines of the annual session, PM Imran questioned yesterday that how would the world community have reacted if eight million Europeans or Jews were put under siege, saying “disappointed” with the lack of response from the international community over the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India.
"(I am) disappointed by the international community. If eight million Europeans or Jews or even eight Americans were put under siege, would the reaction have been the same? There’s no pressure yet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the siege. We’ll keep putting the pressure... What are 9,00,000 troops doing there? Once the curfew is lifted, god knows what is going to happen after that,” the PM stated.
“Modi has been committing terrorism in occupied Kashmir where children, elders among other people have been besieged from the last 52 days […] all communication services are shut down,” he went on to say, adding that freedom fighters have been termed as “terrorists”.
Khan said if Kashmiris fight for their right, “it is called terrorism and they are being oppressed because they are Muslims […] we have to awaken the international community.”
He said that under the curfew there was an imminent risk of genocide of Kashmiri Muslims and that the atrocities being witnessed in the valley were never happened in the past.
The prime minister said minorities including Muslims and Christians were not safe and they were being treated as inferior citizens.
The event was also attended by Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
“India’s Aug. 5 moves were unilateral and unconstitutional […] the world knows the deteriorating situation in Kashmir […] the valley has been turned into biggest jail in the world,” he stated, adding that Hurriyat leaders were detained in different jails.
The premier affirmed that India wanted to alter demography of the Himalayan valley and mentioned that Indian PM Narendra Modi was responsible for committing genocide in Indian Gujarat.
“How could Pakistan send terrorists in Kashmir as 900,000 Indian troops are deployed there?” PM Khan asked responding to India’s accusations against Pakistan of committing terrorism in the region.
He further pointed out that India has been changed in the last six years and leaders with extremist mindset have taken over the control of the country.
“Any miscalculation on either side of the border can leader to severe devastation [in the South Asia] […] I am warning the world about possibility of genocide in Kashmir […] after Cuban crisis, it is the worst time that two nuclear-armed states are face-to-face,” he further added.
Responding to why Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir is being overlooked, he said: "The reason is India, people look upon India as a market of 1.2 billion people... Some are appalled by it but by the end of it, they think of it as a market," he said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been on the rise since the Narendra Modi government decided to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In response, Pakistan expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and suspended trade ties with India. It then sought to internationalise the issue at various global platforms, including the United Nations, but to no avail.
