Pakistan expresses solidarity with Germany, offers to 'partner' over efforts against Islamophobia

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has offered assistance to Germany and other 'like-minded' states in fighting Islamophobia, after a recent attack on shisha bars in which a suspected far-right extremist shot down nine people, including at least five Turkish nationals.

The Foreign Office, in a statement today, said that Pakistan strongly condemned the heinous attacks in Germany’s Hanau, expressing deep concern over rise in Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racial hatred.

“Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the rising tide of Islamophobia, xenophobia and racial hatred sweeping across many parts of the world. The attacks once more underscore that violent extremism knows no race, religion or nationality. We reiterate our call for concerted efforts to root out ideologies of hate, as well as address the underlying causes of hate crimes,” read the statement.

In the statement, the FO also extended offer to aid Germany and ‘like-minded states’ in countering Islamophobia and promoting ‘inter-religious and inter-civilizational harmony’.

The FO said that Pakistan stands with the government and people of Germany, particularly the bereaved families.

“We also express our deep condolences to the Turkish Government over the loss of innocent Turkish lives in the shootings. We wish the injured speedy recovery,” said the FO.

The attack late on Wednesday targeted two shisha bars in Hanau, a town close to Frankfurt in the western state of Hesse.

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Police chased a car used to leave the scene of one shooting to its owner’s address, where they found the bodies of a 43-year-old German man and his 72-year-old mother, Hesse interior minister Peter Beuth said.

German federal prosecutors said they had taken charge of the case due to indications that the attack had an extremist motive, and newspaper Bild said the suspect had expressed far-right views in a written confession.