PM Imran Khan urges world to crack down against online hate

• PM Imran Khan gives interview to Canadian media.
• Says everyone is shocked in the country due to attack on Muslim family.
• "When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be international action against them," says PM Khan.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the world to take “strict action” against online hate as it is fuelling extremism.

The prime minister said this in an interview with the Canadian media, sharing his concerns after a deadly attack, in which four members of a Pakistan-origin Muslim family in Canada were killed.

The police are investigating the incident as a terrorist attack, which according to them, was motivated by hate because they were Muslims.

PM Khan said the murder of the family has “shocked everyone” in Pakistan.

"Everyone is shocked in [Pakistan], because we saw the family picture, and so a family being targeted like that has had a deep impact in Pakistan," the premier was quoted as saying by CBC's chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton.

The complete interview will be aired on Sunday on CBC News Network's Rosemary Barton Live.

When asked to comment on online radicalisation, PM Khan said: "I think there should be very strict action against this."

"When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be international action against them."

The premier said he has raised the issue with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who in the view of PM Khan, understands the importance of fighting online hate and Islamophobia.

However, the PM said other leaders have not yet made the same commitment.

"The problem at the moment is that there is not enough motivation and that some international leaders, or leaders in Western countries actually don't understand this phenomenon."

The prime minister further said that he “mostly agrees” with Trudeau and his position on extremism, but also expressed concern with some Canadian laws that he believed were contributing to Islamophobia.

PM Imran Khan described Quebec’s Bill 21 — which banned public servants, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols at work — as a form of “secular extremism” that led to intolerance against Muslims.

“You want humans to basically be free to express the way they want to be, as long as it doesn’t cause pain and hurt to other human beings,” he emphasized.