PM Imran Khan ‘saddened’ over killing of Pakistan-origin Muslim family in Canada

• PM Imran Khan says condemnable act of terrorism reveals growing Islamophobia in Western countries.
• Says world needs to act holistically to counter the trend.
• According to Canadian police, the Pakistani-origin family, killed in a hit-and-run incident, was targeted for being Muslim

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, expressing grief over the killing of a Pakistani-origin family in Canada, said the world needed to act holistically to counter Islamophobia.

”Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario,” the premier wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

“This condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries,” he stressed.

Premeditated attack

Canadian police said the family was killed in a hit-and-run incident, adding that they were targeted for being Muslim. The family had immigrated from Pakistan to Canada 14 years ago.

A 20-year-old suspect wearing a vest "like body armor" fled the scene after the attack on Sunday evening, and was arrested at a mall seven kilometers (four miles) from the intersection in London, Ontario where it happened, said Detective Superintendent Paul Waight.

"There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim," he told a news conference.

Read more: Man suspected of killing Canadian Muslim family with truck motivated by hate, say police

The names of the victims were not released, but they include a 74-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl -- together representing three generations of the same family, according to London mayor Ed Holder.

"Let me be clear, this was an act of mass murder perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners, rooted in unspeakable hatred," said Holder.

‘Test case’

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the murder was a “test case for the Canadian government and society’.

The foreign minister said the Canadian government must play its role in restoring the confidence and protection of Muslims residing in their country.

He said Pakistan Consul General in Toronto had made a contact with relatives of the victim family who lost their lives in the tragic incident in London, Ontario.

He said the relatives were offered facilitation in the transportation of bodies, however, it was informed that the burial would take place in Canada.

Qureshi appealed to Pakistanis living in Canada to show solidarity with the affected family.