ISLAMABAD — Pakistan, 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 said.
Khan said the recent pattern of domestic terror in Western countries demanded a heightened focus on online radicalisation.
To a question about online radicalisation, he 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.”
Four members of a Pakistani Canadian family were mercilessly mauled down and a nine-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when they were run over by a pickup truck in London, Ontario, last Sunday evening.
Canadian police say the family was targeted because they were Muslim. The family had moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007.
After the tragic incident, the prime minister took to Twitter 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 that Islamophobia needed to be countered holistically by the international community.
Yumna Afzaal, 15, Madiha Salman, 44, Talat Afzaal, 74, and Salman Afzaal, 46, were out for an evening walk when they were run over by the truck driven by 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman who, police said, was motivated by anti-Muslim hate.