PM Imran warns of consequences of adopting western culture

The premier spoke about the rising rate of divorce, the influence of Bollywood and Hollywood on Pakistani youth

In a press conference on Sunday, PM Imran Khan announced the formation of the Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen committee. The premier stressed on the need to improve the moral standards of Pakistan if it is to prosper while announcing the formation of the Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority aimed at portraying the true image of Islam to the world and disseminating lessons from the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to the people.

In the same conference, PM Imran spoke about the rising rate of divorce, the influence of Bollywood and Hollywood on Pakistani youth and his plans to change the challenges, currently faced by the Pakistani society. Speaking about the high divorce rate globally, the prime minister shared how children bear the brunt of a failed marriage as he drew examples from his own divorce. "As people here are heavily influenced by the west, they don't comprehend the consequences of it. Out of 14 marriages, only one ended in divorce back in the 70s in the UK. Now, 70% of marriages result in divorce," he shared.

The premier added, "Since I have seen the effects of broken marriage on children after my own divorce. There's nothing worse. I believe wholeheartedly that there's nothing more painful for society as to what the children of a divorced couple go through. The children need both parents, not one. How can we be sure that the same western culture our countrymen have been adapting, would not be the reason of family system has been failing in Pakistan?"

PM Imran also spoke about the rise in sexual crimes against women and children. "I kept following the said reports and some horrifying reports from Kasur. I sent a DIG to Kasur and asked him to investigate the cause of rising in sexual crimes. When he presented me the report, it was agonising," he said. "I gradually realised that we have on scholarship to determine where [do these crimes stem from]. They come from Hollywood, then move to Bollywood and the same culture is later adopted by our people."

He continued, "Films made in India have [changed] as well. Did anyone talk about the effect these films have? Until we tell our youth that these are two ways to lead a life, the choice is yours. But we have to tell them the two ways first and the consequences of choosing each."

The prime minister went on, "Sex crimes are fought by society. There was a rape case that I was following personally. When I inquired about an update, I was informed that there's a certain shame attached to it. The IG told me that the victim has decided to not file a case against the rapist, she was ashamed about it. What should the government do then?"

PM Imran then spoke about how mobile phones have changed the lives of kids. "Children have material on their phones that wasn't available before. This is a huge challenge we are facing. Parents are faced with a dilemma. What is happening in our schools, drugs are easily accessible in schools. All of this cannot be fought with stronger laws, but society has to fight them," he concluded.

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