ISLAMABAD: Top Pakistani officials on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Pakistan-origin Canadian family as an “act of terrorism,” with the prime minister saying it revealed growing Islamophobia in Western countries.
Police in London, Ontario, citing witnesses, said 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman jumped the curb in his vehicle on Sunday, struck five members of a Muslim family, ranging in age from 9 to 74, and then drove off at high speed. Four members of the family were killed while a nine-year-old survived and is undergoing treatment. Police have described the incident as a “targeted” hate crime.
Veltman, a resident of London who was arrested after the incident, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
“Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a Twitter post. “This condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries. Islamophobia needs to be countered holistically by the international community.”
Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario. This condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries. Islamophonia needs to be countered holistically by the international community.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 8, 2021
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called the killing “an act of terror rooted in unspeakable hatred & Islamophobia.”
3 generations of Pakistani-Canadians were killed in a brutal act of mass murder for their Muslim faith. This is an act of terror rooted in unspeakable hatred & Islamophobia.
Extend our deepest sympathy to the family members & pray for recovery of the only survivor; a little boy.— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) June 8, 2021
“According to the police investigation, there is an element of Islamophobia in this incident. To me, this is an incident of terrorism,” Qureshi said in a statement. “As foreign minister of Pakistan, I will tell the Canadian prime minister that this is a test of his society. They must play their part in restoring the confidence and protection of Muslims in Canada”.
The spokesperson of the Pakistan high commission in Canada, Hamid Raza, said the family, originally from the Pakistani city of Lahore, had decided to bury the victims in Canada.
“Our high commission officials have visited the deceased family in London and offered them assistance to move the dead bodies,” Raza told Arab News by phone from Ottawa. “The family thanked the Pakistani high commission and said they would bury them in Canada.”
“The community is worried that this can happen with anyone, and we are in touch with them to provide all possible assistance,” he added.
The Pakistan High Commission said it had requested both the provincial and federal governments in Canada for “facts of the case and called for stern action against the perpetrator(s).”
A close family friend and representative of the Pakistan-Canada community in London, who did not want to be named, said the community was “very concerned” about the incident.
“I knew the family for the last 13 years personally and they were well educated and peaceful citizens,” he told Arab News by phone. “The male head of the family was a physiotherapist and his wife used to teach in Western University.”
He said the community now awaited justice: “We have trust in our justice system. We demand from authorities to investigate how a 20-year-old boy developed so much hate that he did this extreme act.”
