Welcome return: UK MP visits hometown

JHELUM: Yasmin Qureshi, a member of the British Parliament, visited her hometown of Jhelum on Sunday and urged locals to denounce terrorism, intolerance and honour killings.

“Pakistani people are being dubbed as terrorists and killers in western societies owing to negative media campaigns,” she said while addressing a gathering hosted by her cousin Jahangir Dar in Jhelum on Sunday.

Accompanied by her husband Nadim Butt, the MP reminded locals that consenting adults had the right to enter into a marriage of their own with free will. “Killing young people for solemnising marriage of their own choice is prohibited in Islam,” the British politician said.

“Muslims are being given a bad name in the west in the name of terrorism, whereas, Islam prohibits anyone from taking a life,” Qureshi said adding, only the state may condemn an individual. Replying to a question, she said that British politicians of Pakistani origin always go out of the way to resolve problems of the Pakistani diaspora.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2017.