ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday expressed concern over the "rising trend of Islamophobic attacks in the Western world" and urged the Western World to take notice of the growing trend of Islamophiba and take appropriate measures to eliminate this menace.
The Foreign Minister said the aggrieved family has been living peacefully in Canada for the last 10 years, but became victim of the hatred due to its Islamic belief.
The National Assembly started its session at the Parliament House in Islamabad this evening with Speaker Asad Qaisar in the chair.
At the outset, the House offered fateha for the departed souls of Pakistani Canadian nationals in a premeditated truck attack in Ontario.
In his policy statement in the National Assembly this evening, the foreign minister said killing of four Pakistani Canadian citizens is a demonstration of hate crimes. He said chances of terrorism cannot be ruled out in this incident.
He said the entire Pakistani nation is feeling grief over this inhuman and tragic incident. He said he, during his conversation with Canadian High Commissioner, conveyed the emotions of the people of Pakistan in this matter. He said Pakistan High Commission in Canada is in contact with the aggrieved family to offer any kind of assistance.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the Pakistani and Muslim community living in Canada should reach out to the aggrieved family to console with it.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal proposed that a conference in cooperation with the International Parliamentary Union should be convened to address the issue of Islamophobia.
PPP leader Abdul Qadir Patel said a parliamentary delegation comprising representation from the opposition and the treasury benches should immediately be dispatched to Canada and other countries to raise the issue of Islamophobia.
Speaker Asad Qaisar, in his ruling, asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government to hold talks with the protesters in Janikhel area of Bannu and appealed the protesters to bury the dead body.
It is pertinent to mention that tribesmen have been protesting the killing of a tribal elder by unknown assailants.
Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said the incident in Canada is terrorism and the Muslim World, especially Pakistan, should adopt a proactive approach to counter this trend.
Zahid Akram Khan Durrani said targeting Muslims in the name of faith is not less than terrorism, which is condemnable. Those who spoke and condemned the incident include Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Mohsin Dawar, Syma Nadeem, and Agha Hassan Baloch.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by Junaid Akbar and others, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar assured the House that shortage of transformers and other electrical equipment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will soon be addressed.Eight bills were introduced in the National Assembly. Three of them were “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021” aimed at amendments in Article-185, 51, 106, 11 and 25A, while the other bills include “The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021”, “The High Court (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill, 2021”, “The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2021”, “The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021”, and “The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021.”
The chair referred the bills to the concerned standing committees of the House.
The House will now meet on Thursday at 4 p.m.
