ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on world leaders to crack down on online hate and extremism following the deadly truck attack in London city of Ontario — now being investigated by authorities as a possible act of terrorism.
Four members of a Pakistan-origin Muslim family were killed and a nine-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when they were run down by a pickup truck Sunday evening. Police say the family was targeted because of their faith.
The family moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007.
“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 prime minister told the CBC‘s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton in a virtual interview.
“I think there should be a very strict action against this,” said Imran of online radicalisation.
“When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be an international action against them.”
ONLINE RADICALISATION:
While investigators have not yet determined if the killer, 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, participated in online activity that promoted extremism or violence, Imran said the recent pattern of domestic terror in Western countries demands a heightened focus on online radicalisation.
The perpetrators of other recent mass killings — such as the 2017 gun attack at a Quebec City mosque and the 2018 Yonge Street van attack in Toronto — took part in online activities that are believed by investigators to have contributed to their radicalisation.
The prime minister said he has raised the issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He described Trudeau as a leader who understands the importance of fighting online hate and Islamophobia, though he said other leaders have not yet made the same commitment.
“The world leaders, whenever they decide upon taking action, this will be dealt with,” he said.
“The problem is at the moment, there is not enough motivation and that some international leaders, or leaders in the Western countries, actually don’t understand this phenomenon.”
Trudeau pledged to crack down on online hate speech when he introduced a new digital charter in 2019, though critics say Ottawa has been slow to implement changes that could stop online radicalisation.
The government is now poised to tackle Islamophobia once again. MPs voted today in favour of an NDP proposal to hold an emergency summit on Islamophobia by the end of July.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada must address the threat of white supremacy and far-right radicalisation and make policy changes at every level of government to prevent another attack.
40,000 Canadians have called for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia
I stand with them
Tomorrow, @LMathys will bring forward a motion calling on PM Trudeau to meet the demands of the community in response to these acts of terror
Solidarity means action, not just words
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 10, 2021
While Imran said he “mostly agrees” with Trudeau and his position on extremism, he also expressed concern with some Canadian laws that he believes are contributing to Islamophobia.
He described Quebec’s Bill 21 — which bans public servants, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols at work — as a form of “secular extremism” that leads 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 said.
