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Canada, Pakistan reaffirm solidarity against Islamophobia after Muslim family killed 

Members of the Muslim community and supporters light candles and place flowers at a memorial on June 8, 2021 in London, Canada. (AFP)
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Updated 31 January 2026
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Canada, Pakistan reaffirm solidarity against Islamophobia after Muslim family killed 

  • A man on Monday rammed a Pakistan-origin Canadian Muslim family with his pick-up truck, killing four
  • Canadian foreign ministry says attack was a reminder for the country “that we have a lot more work to do”
Updated 31 January 2026
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Canada and Pakistan have reaffirmed their solidarity in the fight against anti-Muslim hatred, Canada’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Wendy Gilmour, said on Thursday.
A man on Monday rammed a Pakistan-origin Canadian Muslim family with his pick-up truck, killing four. Canadian police have said the attack, which took place in London, Ontario, was motivated by hate due to the group’s Muslim faith.
“Canada and Pakistan reaffirm their solidarity in the global fight against anti-Muslim hatred and Islamaphobia,” Gilmour wrote on Twitter, after a phone conversation between the Pakistani and Canadian foreign ministers.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic conversation with his Canadian counterpart Marc Garneau and discussed the attack in Ontario.
Qureshi said the “Islamophobic attack was a matter of serious concern and had caused anguish among the Muslims worldwide,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. “He appreciated the fact that the Canadian Government, civil society, media and general public had extended support to the family of the victims in this hour of grief. He expressed hope that the perpetrator of the crime would be brought to justice.”
Qureshi also briefed his Canadian counterpart about efforts undertaken by the government of Pakistan “to raise awareness and to curtail the growing Islamophobic tendencies.”
The Canadian foreign ministry said in a tweet that the attack in London was a reminder for the country “that we have a lot more work to do.”
“Canada is committed to doing this work at home & abroad,” it said. 

Topics: Pakistan Canada Truck attack

Pakistan vaccinates over 13.6 million children on first day of nationwide anti-polio campaign

Updated 8 sec ago
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Pakistan vaccinates over 13.6 million children on first day of nationwide anti-polio campaign

  • Pakistan launched week-long nationwide campaign to vaccinate over 45 million children on Monday
  • Health workers vaccinate over 7 million children in Punjab, three million in Sindh and 2.2 million in KP provinces
Updated 8 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health workers vaccinated over13.6 million children on the first day of the nationwide anti-polio campaign, the National Emergency Operations (NEOC) said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Pakistan launched the Feb. 2-8 campaign, the first of this year, in the country’s Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (KP) areas on Monday. The campaign will target over 45 million children in the territories. 

“Over 13.6 million children vaccinated nationwide on the first day of the campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement, adding that over 7.3 million children were vaccinated in the eastern Punjab province. 

Over 3 million children were vaccinated in Sindh, 2.275 million in KP, 559,000 in the southwestern Balochistan province, 82,000 in GB and 233,000 in Azad Kashmir. 

“Polio is an incurable disease that can cause lifelong disability in children,” the NEOC said. “Parents urged to open their doors to polio workers and ensure their children receive polio drops.”

Eliminating poliovirus remains a critical health initiative of Pakistan, which along with Afghanistan, is one of only two countries worldwide where the virus is endemic. Pakistan reported 31 cases of polio in 2025, which authorities say is a significant decline from the alarming 74 cases of the disease it reported in 2024. 

Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of Pakistan’s KP and Balochistan provinces, complicating efforts to vaccinate children in remote areas. 

A gun attack targeting a polio vaccination team in the northwestern Bajaur district in December 2025 left one police constable and a civilian dead.

Natural disasters, such as floods, have also disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.

Topics: Anti polio campaign National Emergencies Operation Center Anti polio vaccination campaign

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