ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday called for international action in addressing online hate to combat Islamophobia.
Khan made the call in a live interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC News as he was commenting on last week's incident in Ontario, where four members of a Canadian Muslim family of Pakistani origin were killed in what local police said was an attack motivated by anti-Muslim hatred.
"Hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be an international action against them," Khan told CBC's Rosemary Barton. "Whenever the international community, whenever the world leaders decide upon taking action, this will be dealt with."
"The problem is, at the moment there is not enough motivation," he said.
Last week, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, announced the Pakistani government's plans to present a resolution against Islamophobia at the UN General Assembly. He admitted, however, to facing resistance from several countries.
"This will take some time," Akram said. "We need to do a lot of convincing at the UN General Assembly with certain countries which are resisting it, including both some western countries and India, but we are trying to secure it at the general assembly of UN."
Together with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan organized International Day to Combat Islamophobia at the UNGA on March 16.
Islamabad has been lobbying the cause on the international level, especially among Muslim countries, since Khan's government came to power in 2018.
