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Imran Khan refuses to attend India conclave in Salman Rushdie's presence
PTI leader cancels participation at India Today Conclave, says Rushdie has caused immeasurable hurt to Muslims.
PTI leader cancels participation at India Today Conclave, says Rushdie has caused immeasurable hurt to Muslims.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has refused to attend the India Today Conclave in New Delhi after learning about British author Salman Rushdie’s participation.
In a statement released by senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari, Khan cancelled his participation as a key note speaker at the conclave stating that he could not even think of participating in a program that included Rushdie, who has caused “immeasurable hurt to Muslims across the globe”.
Quoting Khan, Mazari said that the party leader received the full program of the conclave last night and made his final decision early this morning.
Khan has expressed regrets to the organisers of the program.
India Today regrets Khan’s withdrawal from event
India Today Group’s Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie on Wednesday said, “We deeply regret that Imran Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf will not address India Today Conclave 2012 due to begin in New Delhi from March 16 because of Salman Rushdie’s participation.”
In a statement issued, Purie further said, “India Today Conclave is a platform for free and frank exchange of ideas. We do not endorse views of any of our speakers but we do stand for freedom of expression in all that we do; it’s an essential principle of a free nation and free media. India Today Conclave now in its 11th year has established itself as an independent and credible forum for thinkers and leaders from around the world, not all agreeable to everyone. We wish that Imran had used this opportunity to express his views at the Conclave with all the force and lucidity that he possesses. We can all agree to disagree but we must present our argument.”
On Tuesday, the organisers of the event had announced that Rushdie will speak at the conference on a speech titled “The Liberty Verses – I am What I am and That’s All That I am”.
Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” is still banned in India for allegedly blaspheming Muslims.
Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor and US former diplomat Henry Kissinger are also due to speak during the two-day event at the luxury Taj Palace hotel.
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This is probably the first time i feels Mr. Imran as sensible…!!
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Well done Imran khan!!!
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MASHA ALLAH – Brave decision.
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If he goes then problem, if he doesn’t go then problem.
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Excellent
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But back in the past, Imran Khan was a great Fan of Salman Rushdie…..
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What’s with Kaptaan & his obsession with boycotts?
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Very Good Imran Khan
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well done ik.
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Oh the liberals are going to have a field day with this today. to bad no one really cares what they think.
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WELL DONE IMRAN KHAN.
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Good job; now wait for the so called Pak liberals to criticize this
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Disappointed. How can we expect him to conduct diplomacy if he can’t be seen in a room with a writer, and on the other hand has no problems with sending party representatives to sit on stage with self-professed killers at DPC rallies?
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Mullah Imran Khan is scared of Sir Salman Rushdie. Freedom of expression and speech wins. I am so happy :) Rushdie is back in India.
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Very good decision by Imran Khan. His opponents had already started a campaign against him without knowing that Imran Khan has refused to attend.
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EXCELLENT IMRAN KHAN! Rushdees face make me feel so sick! I am proud of my captain IK
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Now the antiPTI troll on social media is calling him Taliban Khan. Had he decided to attend the India Today Convlave they would have called him ‘Yahoodi Lobby Conspirator’.
Regrets!
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How silly, what a limited mind—-just to please few petty fundos around—sorry Imran Khan you are letting yourself be painted in colours that simply are not you. Wake up before it’s too late.
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Imran Khan Zindabad!!
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well done KhAN sahab!
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……and I thought Imran Khan was taking Pakistan forward ! Alas I was wrong!
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Rushdie is a fantastic writer, but the problem is that some of his supporters and perhaps he himself doesn’t/don’t realize exactly how deep the love of a pure Muslim is for the Holy Prophet(S). The Satanic Verses may be a great piece of literature, but the content can be very hurtful to Muslims. Freedom of speech requires religious sentiments to be taken under consideration just like things such as racism and hate speech are to be avoided. The response by the Muslim community in my opinion was still extremely wrong and should never have been so violent. It is the fault of Muslim leadership that they have not conveyed to the world exactly what religion means to Muslims, and what could hurt them. The horrific events of the holocaust are never spoken about in different contexts because the Jews rightly made their sentiments clear. Knowing how devout a Muslim Imran Khan is, i can understand his decision.
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Well done!! Would anyone participate in an event also attended by someone who has slandered your parents? No, right? And in this case it’s the messenger of God, which means a definite unequivocal NO!
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It wan’t make any difference
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@Maryam, which past are you talking about, any reference ? Recommend
you know he is a Leader, A Cricketer, A writer, some how he is a poet too i believe :) World respect him and they invite him in conferences !! he received Talk schedule last night (as Sheren Mazari said) and he made decision today morning after consulting his party and some senior persons!! mean while Worshipers of Status Quo tried to burn him in this fake news by spreading a Nation Wide Campaign Against him!!! ALLAH is with him no one from Noora Leage or any other party can harm his Status and Personality!!! We are with you Captain and i have learnt a thing from you never b afraid from any one but ALLAH!!!
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Masha Allah- excellent May Allah make u steadfast in islam and such decisions.
don’t care about hollow inllectuals/liberals.
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@MAD I am a liberal but I fully agree with IK’s decision. Not all liberals are a fan of Rushdie.
No liberal will allow anyone to make hate remarks on any community, be it Sunni, Shia or Ahmadi.
I understand what you are referring to, but the so-called liberals of Pakistan need to know some the fundamentals of liberalism. So please refrain from calling them liberals..
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Actually Imran has no real problem with Rushdie or whoever, but the conservative voters will see it as a proof of some sinister conspiracy
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Great Decision by the brave leader
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Bravo… very wise decision….
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@MAD:
As if what you think is very very dear to us and makes or breaks our day…
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Ms. Maryam,
Let me tell you something; IK is never been a Fan of Rushdie.
Do not spoil IK’s reputation if you know nothing. (For reference go through IK’s recent Book ‘A Personal History’)
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@maryam
Whats your full name? Maryam Nawaz oh sorry, Maryam Safdar, well your hand writing matches a lot.
And plz provide some proof after alleging someone of Shirk. Thanks
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The apple doesn`t fall far from the tree!
With his decision not to attend the India Today Conclave in New Delhi, he has demonstrated his narrow and shallow intellectual horizon. Salwar kameez and Taliban cap suits his personality.
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How many of you know that novel “The Satanic Verses” is still banned in India for allegedly blaspheming Muslims?
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@MAD, it’s not about being liberal, it’s about our mentality of running away/hiding and denial of our problems/issues. IK’s decision to boycott reflects that mentality.
Don’t you think it would have been better for him to go and represent us and counter Rushdie? Stunts like these only add to popularity of “intellectuals” in the western media.
I really think the Kaptan needs to grow out of the boycott defeatist mentality and actually participate in something worthwhile.
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Is Salman Rushdi that important ???
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It is game over for Pakistan, literally.
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@Mandeep Vaid:
Pretty ignorant of you. Very good decision King Khan.
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@Maryam: OOh really??
he must have told you on cell phone, ryt?
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There is no difference between Imran and the so-called custodians and guardians of Islam i.e. Mullahs and Taliban. Rather than avoiding him, Imran should take him upfront and via debate prove to the world that whatever Rushdie wrote or said does not potray the correct picture of God and his messenger pbuh.Recommend
This is a great decision….
Those persons who didn’t like Imran’s decision I ask a question to them.
“Did u love with Prophet Muhammed Sallallah-o-Alaih-e-Wasallam…????”
First of all kindly know about the stupidity of Salman Rushdi……!!!!
Is he still honorable……????
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The best and the only fruitful boycott by Imran.Hopefully he limits his boycotts to meaningful things, which definitely do not include elections.
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ahahah…..Imran khan runs after the whole media reports this thing on the net and in the national newspapers today that imran khan will speak with salman rushdie…well done Team PML(N) for making imran khan run and now we should make him run to UK, to his wife and leave our Country and Nation permanently
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Thanks God he didn’t do a ‘khudkoosh’ on Salman Rushdi
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Excellent …
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Well done khan thats like a true khanRecommend
I am an Indian Muslim from Lucknow and I support Imran Khan. Salman Rushdie is an apostate and a disgrace to Muslim ummah. Sir Imran Khan did the right thing by boycotting this useless seminar
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we are greatfuly thankful to imran khan for his natural Dissision not to attend,but India,yes that India with vast Muslim population arranging this conference is a total ignorance of the justifiable sentiments of peoples.as always i suppose Indian government must have motive behind this,so its intentional arrangement by its other two partners the us and Israel all in colobration to stir up heated violence to paint Islam negative image in the already existing anti Islam phobia,its a provocation with hospitality.
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And thats why i wont vote for him.Recommend
keep it up IMran……We are with you. God bless you, and Shaitan hates you
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@TECHTV
lolz yes thats maryam nawaz .A gr8 decision by imran khan
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Long Love Imran Khan for this decsiion.
We all want that if IK comes to power, one of his first steps should be to behead the likes of Rushdie..
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@Maryam:
tch tch that was back in 1983 but his book was published in 1983, it seems that its you who is a big fan of sulman rushdie :)
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What a COWARD!! Iran still has the bounty on Salman Rushdie’s head… and adjusted for inflation it would run into the tens of millions… at a time when Pakistan needs the foreign exchange, Imran Khan has taken the easy way out of doing Jihad, achieving martyrdom and helping his country out..
This is exactly why Pakistan will never succeed, our leaders, are always sending other people to die, but can never make a sacrifice themselves…
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A politically shrewd call – the negative PR from his attendance would far outweigh any positive impact he could possibly make from this trip.
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@Maryam:
The Past is the Past…People change…it is what he believes in now rahter than what he did in the past…evryone is entitled to their mistakes….it is how they rise from them is the question…..
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please remove rushdi face picture, what’s he doing behind our heroes face, hopefully in future do not show his face in any newspaper,its so off putting and annoying
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@Mumbai Dude:
Oh see how Indians are talking here.. freedom of speech? if so why his book is still banned in India? Is Sulman Rushdie allowed to write something hatred about your Gita or watever is it? Or he will be killed instantly by Hindus? OH so freedom of speech is only and only if you speech or write about Muslim stuff.
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Y all the hue and cry over a peaceful means of protest.Good decision Mr. Imran Khan.
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Imran must not visit US or allow any leader from it to visit if he becomes prime minister of Pakistan, as the US has caused innumerable pain to Muslims all over the world….! It will raise his stature even further.
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Any true liberal would have condemned rushdie.. i dnt understand why do our ppl think of themselves as liberals when they would appreciate anything tht is anti-muslim… liberalism gives u right of freedom but a freedom tht does not harm the sentiments of others…. Khan has always condemned him ever since he has written this crap.
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It is a decision by IMran as a party leader. We should respect that and refrain from making value judgement on that, He has his freedom to attend or not to attend any conference/meeting. I thought he excused from the meeting of DeP also. Good on him not to support extremist view points.
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@MAD:
What? All five of them?
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And this man may become one day PM of Pakistan! All the best Pakistan. No one really has the courage to go against right leaning sentiment. No one. May be he actually did not like Rushdie and had nothing to do with public pressure who knows. Well if the latter is correct then he is just a refined and glorified Taliban.
Would not Pakistan love Imran come to India and share the stage with Salman and have a proper debate… defeat Salman in proper intelectual talk… tell him why many are offended by his work. If he becomes PM of Pakistan he will have to debate.. negotiate in world stage. What will boycott achieve??
P.S: But to all those proud and devout Muslims, the book which caused controversy is not banned in many Islamic countries.
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Anyone who believes that our Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) is the final, true messenger of Allah, then He can never imagine participating in such a gathering. There is a difference between freedom of expression and freedom to insult. Why is rushde a darling of the west and gets extensive coverage? He was after worldly luxuries which he got all and in abundance because of that book.
On the other hand look at the life of our Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him). How much will the world try to bring down our beloved Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him). Believe me you can’t. Read the Quran and find one scientific error in it, you will not be able to and that in itself is proof enough of its authenticity.
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@Dajjal , Very well said mate. I feel sorry, sad and mad for Pakistan. Its just the courage thing!
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Everyone has a right to have their own decisions and their own views and thats freedom.Imran just did that,if it has hurt Salman Rushdie’s followers it can also hurt Imran Khan’s followers.If he has done it he has done it for the masses that follow him,trust him and have faith in him.Salman Rushdie did the ”negativity gets positive attention” based writings to get people to follow.If liberalism is about free minds then i believe it doesnt believes in a system and if it doesnt then its out of this world.Now if you blame Imran Khan for being Taliban Khan you just prove your level of thinking.If so,How do u call urself a liberal?
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Well, not a good decision but not a bad one either.
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Retrieved from @SalmanRushdie (1 February 2012) “30 yrs ago @ImranKhanPTI was a fan at my 1982 Delhi lecture and 100% secular. Now my work “humiliates” his “faith.” Which is the real Imran?”
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@Tech TV
nice comment..
Imran khan made a good decison…
@Haroon farooq
Quoting Khan, Mazari said that the party leader received the full program of the conclave last night and made his final decision early this morning.
I am amazed how the kingdom of noon league trembles whenever they hear Imran Khan and PTI
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@RizwanTKhan.. There is only one King Khan, Saharukh Khan and certainly not the Imran. Britain gave knighthood to Rushdie. Why Pakistanis of all sorts visit Britain and no one raise a finger? India was the first to ban his book. However we Indians don’t believe in banning the person to speak. Even Kashmiri separatists have freedom of speech often to the disliking of all Indians. Muslims should have the guts to hear opposite view points.
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Respect for Imran Khan .period
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@mad @spacer
yeah…they are ROSHAN KHAYALS :D
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To all those Indian friend who are criticizing Imran’s decision, please first ask your dear government to lift the ban over satanic verses.
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@Zeeshan H: Lol !! Yes, boycotting has become a habit with the Kaptaan. Will somebody please tell him to at least not boycott the next election? Nobody has EVER won an election by boycotting it.
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He would run to be in presence of Taliban and other fanatics engaged in sectarian slaughters of Muslims and others though.
Also ‘sentiments of people’ that want to kill people for disrespecting Islam are not the civilised sentiments but very problematic sentiments. The whole world is offended by these kind of sentiments being bandied around.
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And what about those fanatics who defamed Islam and caused immeasurable hurt to Muslims across the globe ??? You don’t mind spending time with them !!
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Mumbai dude you better stay away…its not about mullahism or fanatism its a matter of GHAIRAT which Imran has shown….Well done IMRAN.
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@Maryam
what is your source madam?
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@Haroon Farooq:
Typical PMLN mentality. Instead applauding his brave step, you are trying to make up issue out of it. It doesn’t matter if he has joined them or not and to be honest it wouldn’t be an issue even if he had joined that seminar. The best thing for boycotting is the message he has sent to the whole world particularly indians that he stand for a normal muslim’s ideology. Thats you call a leader…. People think he speaks for you and stand by you.. How about the accusation NS is facing these days? This is reeking and if you still think PMLN is a better option then good luck to you and your thoughts… Well summer is around the corner and Dengue alone is enough to keep your leaders busy as they spent the winter in distributing laptops and visiting Turkey..
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Silly decision! Lack of leadership qualities. He could have gone their and expressed his views and openly confronted him. I think this time Rushdie will not be asked to leave to please Imran Khan!
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@Akka:
@itp:
okay one answer here. Satanic verses was written in 88 or 89 long after 1982 when IK was Rushdies fan. my second point is that IK is facing a tough election campaign ahead and attending would have lost him votes. Its as simple as that, He would have been stupid to go there. Its not personal just politics in the same manner that Imran Khan and PM GIllani still remain good friends who cant openly meet each other due to politics.
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Imran should have some balls and face the world, boycotting is not a solution, lead a better life and be an example so that Rushdie is attracted to you.
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Wel done Khan Saaaaaaaaab!!!!!!!!!!!!
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congratulations to indians on victory of freedom of speech and general human brain matter. bad luck to those pakistanis who thought they had found a reliable sensible leader in imran.
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very very good decision.
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One again TRUE FACe of IK comes out….
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We will never have a leader like him in our generation. May Allah always protect him..
Power to PTI.
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@Maryam:
This is an absurd and illogical comment. Please try to understand that a person undergoes massive transformation in 30 years.
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It really shows who is important in India … Imran and Shreen or Rushdi…
India belives in Democracy… and solves the problem democratically …. It really shows the pakistan psyic about religion … All the best
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@Rajendra Kalkhande
pls dont compare shahrukh khan with imran khan
sharukh doesnt even come close
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Haha Racism at his best!
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@Sanjay Sharma:
Agreed
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@Maryam: That was when rushdie had not written ‘The Satanic Verse’
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Imran you send a very good message to the world. I am proud of you!
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This is a political decision and has nothing to do with IK’s beliefs
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It is not a surprise nor breaking news Imran is a finest Muslim, Prophit(PBUH) lover and Brave man ever after Great Allama Iqbal. He is a symbol of pure Pakistani Nationalism. Rushdi maluoon is a very small puppet personality of anti Islam and anti Pakistan shameless forces.
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Thats the decision of true Muslim and he must do that, where such blasphemer attending this useless seminars.
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@maryam and @babur… that past was before Rushdie wrote satanic verses in 1988. Just goes to show, Imran khan is a true Muslim and no matter how great a writer someone is, if he write anti Islam, blasphemous and hate material, that person is gone from the good books. Plus, all Muslims know before Iblees became the satan, his rank was among the angels and then one deed got him where!!!
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Imran Khan is a tool.
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how silly. when (if ever) will IK and fellow muslims grow up?
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This is the most logical forward thinking decision by the great one Imran Khan. Excellent
Let the liberal cry over it
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@Maryam:
back this Mr. Rushdie hadn’t write his infamous “satanic verses” Miss Maryam..
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It would be great, if he and his team could have avoided attending extremist rallies which are determined to cause “immeasurable” violence not only against non-Muslims but also against Muslims…..isn’t it hypocrite
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Good decision by Imran Khan. And strange move by organizers in India…
If someone so much as mentions the holocaust or African American slavery, they are rightfully thrown out of a job (regardless of how high their status) and slandered all across liberal media in the US. Liberals defend the feelings of others human beings. No one in the West would allow groups like the Jews and Blacks to be insulted the way Rushdie insulted Muslims.
And the anti-Islamic group here, don’t twist this into another Muslims are rigid argument. Look around the world and open ur mind.
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Great and brave decision!! I wish other leaders of Pak also learn a lesson from him and stop kissing feet of the west!
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I was so looking forward to hearing Khan at the India conclave. Why did the organizers have to include Rushdie and that too after everything was already set without him. Its sad not to be able to hear Khan in such a high profile arrangement. However i agree with his protest.
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Thank you imran khan,tears started tickling from my eyes when I read this news. I was very much afraid of loosing you as my political leader and ideal if you would have attended this confrence. I am speechless and my vote is for you.
Kee Muhammad say Wafa tu nay to hum tary hain
Ye jahan kya cheez ha, looh-o-kalam tary hain……..xoxoxoRecommend
@Mandeep Vaid – The Shiv Senha threatens SRK when he wants to bid for Pk players for his IPL team; yet India’s equivalents of the taliban are revered and not condoned for their shallow and limited thinking! But when it comes to an Islamic leader standing up against a blasphemous writer, everyone is so quick to judge! Shame! The double standards are just appalling!
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Will someone look up this? Don’t reply with angry “He is a Liar” comments.
http://twitter.com/SalmanRushdie/status/179874568314433536
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I hate Imran Khan and his policies, but yeah ‘well left’ this time as Ramiz Raja would say..
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For a community that constantly emphasizes on the ‘sunnat’ of the Prophet, I’m surprised that they don’t think twice before issuing death threats and warnings and causing people to go into exile. Always ask yourselves, ‘what would the Prophet have done’, when dealing with any situation. The first reaction to any difficult situation must be peaceful and logical, otherwise you end up stooping much lower that the culprit himself. Instead of the ayatollah asking for rushdie’s head, he should have called upon him to enlighten him about the essence of the Prophet and Islam. The same goes for so-called leaders of the Muslim communities across the world. You need to act with dignity in order to be treated with dignity. Peace.
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I salute you IK
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yes it takes courage of conviction to do the right thing, thankyou imran khan.
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@Maryam:
That was before his book “The Satanic Verses” came out.
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Man you just earned my vote today!
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Boycotting and running away from any challenge is Imran’s habit. He should have taken the devil head on. Salman could be ill reputed person in eyes of muslims but as an author and literary person, Imran is not one percent of his Salma’s qualifications. This is the reason Imran ran awayRecommend
@Mumbai Dude:
I’m all for freedom of expression but the thing people call FoE these days is ‘freedom of insult any one’. If I start abusing your parents and elders does that make it freedom of expression as they are not my relative and I shouldn’t care as I don’t respect them? I guess not .. People deliberately want to hurt others under FoE and this should not be allowed.
Mr Rushdie is entitled to his own views but knowing that saying such things will hurt millions of those people who have done no harm to you isn’t a wise thing to do.
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@American:
Hoping you’re genuinely an American…your comments are greatly appreciated. What Muslims want is dignity for their identity and ideology the same way any other group demands. Strange that liberal Pakistanis seem to be even bigoted against Islam than most foreigners.
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@Indi-Pop: Pakistan will go forward when Imran Khan’s will be Prime Minister but India is going to reverse. Now today its clearly proved that Indian Muslim are living in a very bad state and whatever Hindu dominated state decide they have to accept whether how much it is painful for the muslim to invite Rushdi Hindu do not care. This has proved why Paksitan was necessary to create for the muslims where we live freely and decide ourselves what is better for us not the others.
Welldone Imran Khan we are with you.Recommend
However Imran Khan has no issue with Difa-e-Pakistan group who has persecutors of almost everyone among them including those who burnt churches, bibles and Christians in Gojra. What a hypocrite Imran is.Recommend
@Khan:
That happens all the time in Pakistan; anti-Shia, Anti-Ahmadi, Anti-Christian, Anti-Hindu and so on….has Imran Khan boycotted any of those religious groups too? No, he is in cohoots with them instead. Imran Khan is scoring cheap points here using religious emotions.
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good move
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Why so much fuss about IK not attending a conclave. This is a principled decision and I am sure no political leader will attend it. It has nothing to do with left-right politics.
AntiPTI trolls are not liberals please, we all know what rightist party they belong to.
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@Adnan:
Totally wrong, belief in Holy Prophet PBUH has nothing to do with sharing a stage with some one who doesn’t have belief in him.
Whatever Rushdie said or wrote, He shouldn’t have as, it was not freedom of Expression or speech but freedom to insult others but whatever he does, Its between him and his Creator and will be rewarded punished accordingly.
Prophet PBUH used to meet those who were against his religion and himself and were even involved in insulting him but that didn’t stop Him (PBUH) from meeting them.
Imran Khan should have gone to the gathering and could have present his own arguments but obviously, majority of our people will not understand this point and thus he will lose many votes which is his main aim and thus the boycott.
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Good Decission by Khan…pti zindabad
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This is not a conclave sponsored by the Govt of India but by the private m edia group LIVING MEDIA which has several periodicals, tv channels and a huge printing press called Thomson Press in Faridabad. Gen Musharraf used to attend these conclaves till the Indian Govt banned his entry for his self confessed role in the Kargil war. Imran Khan is politically correct in boycotting this conclave becaue of vote bank turning hostile if he sits in the same h all with rushdie. But at an intellectual level it is a wrong decision, but then IK is no intellect. He has his eyes on the Prime Minister’s gaddi. Anything to reach there.
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Masha’ALLAH! Excellent decision Khan Sahab!
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Participating in the conclave with SR is not something everyone will dislike….SR will meet his faith for his deeds after all….being muslims we believe that what SR has done cannot be done by a pure muslim…
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welldone
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Yes, i agree with Khan sb decision, but it would be far better that IK participate the conclave and face Mr.Rushdi on table and prove that he is wrong and ISLAM is correct religion.
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I read a book from Tibet’s spiritual leader, The Dalai Lama. In it was mentioned very correctly and nicely about the education. It states, the modern education deals mainly with
materialistic view. The complete education should include the teachings of warm-heartedness and compassion in the students.
100 percent of the commentors in this article are all educated, but such a disrespect of others and hatred makes me appreciate the value of wisdom shown by the The Dalai Lama.
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Great decision
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Thats the side of Imran Khan that I love the most!
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A wise decision. This freedom of speech only applies if you are talking against Islam- try expressing yourself under this freedom against Israel in the west and instantly you be an anti-semite.
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@Abbas:
The hate book wasn’t published back than!
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@Maryam: Please explain and provide some evidence.Recommend
@Jaffar Ali Bashar:
Rushdie would have cited Imran’s extremist connections and Imran would have been embarrassed. It’s best that Imran avoid more embarrassment.Recommend
I don’t know if the conference was of any worth of not but if Imran would’ve gone there it would have given PMLN another opportunity to do their cheap politics
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@Ahmad: This is just the beginning mashaAllah. And only the first step is the most difficult. I hope Allah keeps you on the right path, mashaAllah brother.
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@Khan:
Khan sb, what is the point of meeting him?
How would you like to meet a person who in your opinion and understanding wrongly and unjustly insults your father or any person who you hold in deepest regard? For us, the Prophet PBUH means more than anyone else in this world.
Once you open the door to accepting the insult of your Prophet PBUH you will not be able to draw a line. Do you know the topic of his speech; it is “The Liberty Verses – I am What I am and That’s All That I am”.
Would you like to hear his speech and share space with him? Unless one is allowed to confront him on this; there is no point in attending it.
If he is allowed to openly remain derogatory to your Prophet PBUH, aernt you allowed to say no, thank you, I wouldnt be a part of this?
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Khan sb can u handle this situation now?
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very good sir….
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What are you scared of Imran? If you have guts you could defend your position. Political posturing for mass consumptions is one thing and defending a philosophy in-front of learned men and women is altogether different thing. Based what you have been uttering all these months and your position on this conclave we could safely conclude that our Kaptaan lacks “aql & himmat” to face intellectuals who dare to question everything under the sun!
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@ Those so called ‘educated liberals’ ; First his decision has nothing to do with the politics as he is Muslims himself who feels humiliated to be accompanied with some one of who thrashed his religion he brought up with and violated the code of freedom of speech .. and you (so called) liberals are yourself have an extreme and ignorant vision towards other beliefs and feels pride to bash the view of billions … Respect others religion and shame on you !!
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Well done
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If Imran Khan goes to India and if he really tears apart Rushdie’s stupid and insane mindset. Will this event organizers allow IK to do that? (I don’t think so.) This is a narrow minded liberal fascist event. These fascists will only support and celebrate the carnage and ethnic cleansing of innocent Muslims all over the world. For the rest of the world, at present the only hot news and the most popular event is “How many innocent Muslims, get killed?”
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@ All the liberals and Indians.. You guys advocate that no talks can be held with Taliban as they have closed minds then in the same way this guy (Salman RushDIE) is also an extremist and has a closed mind.. unwilling to open up to a different religion.. The Taliban kill with the weapon.. this guy kills with his pen.. “The pen is mightier than the sword”
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