PM hails Trudeau for slamming Islamophobia

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday welcomed his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau’s “unequivocal” condemnation of Islamophobia. In a tweet, the premier also appreciated Trudeau’s plan to appoint a special representative to cope with this contemporary scourge. He also stressed upon the need for international efforts and cooperation to end the growing menace of Islamophobia.

“I welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unequivocal condemnation of Islamophobia & his plan to appoint a Special Representative to combat this contemporary scourge. His timely call to action resonates with what I have long argued. Let us join hands to put an end to this menace,” PM Imran wrote.

The Canadian premier in a tweet had termed Islamophobia as “unacceptable”. “Full stop. We need to put an end to this hate and make our communities safer for Muslim Canadians. To help with that, we intend to appoint a Special Representative on combating Islamophobia,” he had added.

According to a statement of the Canadian government, as tagged by PM Trudeau, Islamophobia and hate, in any form, had no place in Canada.

“Today, Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, highlighted the federal government’s intention to appoint a special representative on combatting Islamophobia. This appointment will be part of a renewed Government of Canada Anti-Racism Strategy,” it read.

The statement further said that last year, the Canadian government had announced its intention to make January 29 a National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia. “This year, on the eve of the five-year anniversary of this act of terror, the Government of Canada stands with and supports Muslim communities across Canada and reaffirms its commitment to take action to denounce and tackle Islamophobia and hate-fueled violence,” it added.

“Islamophobia is a concrete and daily reality for Muslim communities across Canada and around the world. As we honour the victims, we must remember that we have a responsibility to combat discrimination and continue to build a more inclusive Canada."

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The statement further read that was why the federal government held a virtual National Summit on Islamophobia in July 2021. “The special representative appointment is one of the recommendations put forward during the Summit and will be an additional step in the government’s ongoing work through Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy to tackle Islamophobia in all its forms."

It added that confronting Islamophobia was an important part of the aforementioned strategy as it included a whole-of-government approach to tackling systemic racism with dedicated knowledge and expertise through the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, as well as investments to empower communities to combat different forms of racism, including Islamophobia, and to advance digital and civic literacy initiatives that addressed online disinformation and hate speech.

"We are committed to renewing the Anti-Racism Strategy in 2022 with a National Action Plan to expand our efforts to combat hate and racism." PM Imran has been very effectively, consistently and vociferously advocating for global efforts and cooperation to tackle the issue of Islamophobia which had resulted in number of unpleasant incidents in the West.

In the recent past, Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised interaction had also shared similar thoughts about Islamophobia.

Separately, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said PM Imran’s efforts against Islamophobia at the International level had started yielding results. In a tweet, he too lauded the Canadian prime minister for condemning Islamophobia and expressing plan to appoint a special representative to combat the scourge.

(With input from APP)