Condemns 'terrorist' Attacks On Muslims In Canada, Pakistan PM Calls On Islamophobia

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. (Wikimedia Commons/Chatham House)

JAKARTA - Linking the fatal attack on a Muslim family in Canada to the growing wave of Islamophobia in the West, Pakistan's prime minister has urged the international community to act 'holistically' to counter the rapidly escalating phenomenon.

"Sad to learn of the killing of a Canadian Muslim family of Pakistani origin in London, Ontario. This condemned act of terrorism exposes the growing Islamophobia in Western countries," Imran Khan said on Twitter, as reported by Yenisafak, Tuesday 8 June.

"Islamophobia needs to be fought holistically by the international community," said Imran Khan.

It is known, four members of a Muslim family from Pakistan were killed when a pickup truck driver, Nathanial Veltman, 20 years, accidentally hit them in London, Ontario, Canada Sunday night local time.

Another family member, a nine-year-old boy, survived the attack and is in hospital, where doctors have called his condition serious but not life-threatening.

The names of the victims have not been released, but police say they are two women, aged 74 and 44, a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the man was from the city of Lahore in northeastern Pakistan and was a professional physiotherapist. The family had moved to Canada 14 years ago.

"This is a blatant act of terrorism," Qureshi told local media Samaa News, urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to 'step in' to protect his country's Muslim community.

"This is a test run for the Canadian government and people," he said.

Qureshi suggested Prime Minister Trudeau follow in the footsteps of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who won global praise for her actions following the March 2019 shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, which left 51 worshipers dead and 40 injured.

For information, security forces in London, Ontario said the victims were the targets of anti-Islam hate crimes.

"There is evidence that this was a premeditated, premeditated, hate-motivated act," Detective Inspector Paul Waight of the London, Ontario police department, told reporters.

"It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslims," Waight said.