-PM urges World to counter Islamophobia holistically
-FM says tragic death of a family is ‘test case’ for Canada
-Canadian PM calls killing of Muslim family ‘terrorist attack’
-A family of four killed in fresh Islamophobic attack in Canada
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday expressing grief over the killing of a Pakistani-origin family in Canada said the world needed to act holistically to counter Islamophobia.
“Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario” he wrote in a tweet.
“This condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries,” he stressed.
According to the Canadian police, the family killed in a hit-and-run incident was targeted for being Muslim. The family had immigrated from Pakistan to Canada 14 years ago.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said the death of four members of a Pakistan-origin Muslim family in Canada, linked with Islamophobia as per initial reports, was a ‘test case for the Canadian government and society’.
The foreign minister said the Canadian government must play its role in restoring the confidence and protection of Muslims residing in their country. The foreign minister said Pakistan Consul General in Toronto had made a contact with relatives of the victim family who lost their lives in the tragic incident in London, Ontario.
He said the relatives were offered facilitation in transportation of bodies, however it was informed that the burial would take place in Canada. Qureshi appealed to Pakistanis living in Canada to show solidarity with the affected family.
The Canadian police said the family killed in a hit-and-run incident was targeted for being Muslim. The family had immigrated from Pakistan to Canada 14 years ago.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday labelled as a “terrorist attack” the killing of four members of a Muslim family, who were run down by a man driving a pick-up truck.
“This killing was no accident. This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” Trudeau said during a speech at the House of Commons.
A man driving a pickup truck rammed into and killed four members of a Muslim family in the south of Canada’s Ontario province, in what police said was a “premeditated” attack.
A 20-year-old suspect wearing a vest “like body armour” fled the scene after the attack on Sunday evening, and was arrested at a mall seven kilometres from the intersection in London, Ontario where it happened, said Detective Superintendent Paul Waight.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim,” he told a news conference.
The names of the victims were not released, but they include a 74-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl, together representing three generations of the same family, according to London Mayor Ed Holder. A nine-year-old boy was also hospitalized following the attack and is recovering.
“Let me be clear, this was an act of mass murder perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners, rooted in unspeakable hatred,” said Holder. Holder said flags would be lowered for three days in London, which he said has 30,000 to 40,000 Muslims among its more than 400,000 residents.
Identified as Nathaniel Veltman, the suspect has been charged with four counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Police said Veltman, a resident of London, did not know the victims.
Waight said local authorities are also liaising with federal police and the attorney general about adding “possible terrorism charges”.
He offered few details of the investigation, but noted that the suspect’s social media postings were reviewed by police. Waight said police did not know at this point if the suspect was a member of any specific hate group and declined to detail evidence pointing to a possible hate crime, but said the attack was planned. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was “horrified” by the attack.
“To the loved ones of those who were terrorized by yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) act of hatred, we are here for you,” he said, singling out the nine-year-old in hospital.
“To the Muslim community in London and to Muslims across the country, know that we stand with you. Islamophobia has no place in any of our communities. This hate is insidious and despicable, and it must stop,” he added.
‘Out for a walk’
At about 8:40pm on Sunday, according to police, the five family members were walking together along a sidewalk when a black pickup truck “mounted the curb and struck” them as they waited to cross the intersection. One woman who witnessed the aftermath of the deadly crash said she couldn’t stop thinking about the victims. Paige Martin said she was stopped at a red light around 8:30pm when a large pick-up roared past her. She said her car shook from the force.
“I was shaken up, thinking it was an erratic driver,” Martin said.
Minutes later, she said, she came upon a gruesome, chaotic scene at an intersection near her home, with first responders running to help, a police officer performing chest compressions on one person and three other people lying on the ground. A few dozen people stood on the sidewalk and several drivers got out of their cars to help.
“I can’t get the sound of the screams out of my head,” Martin said. From her apartment, Martin said she could see the scene and watched an official drape a sheet over one body about midnight. “My heart is just so broken for them,” she said.
Zahid Khan, a family friend, said the three generations among the dead were a grandmother, father, mother and their teenage daughter. The family had immigrated from Pakistan 14 years ago and were dedicated, decent and generous members of the London Muslim Mosque, he said. “They were just out for a walk that they would go out for every day,” Khan said through tears near the site of the crash.
A fundraising webpage said the father was a physiotherapist and cricket enthusiast and his wife was working on a PhD in civil engineering at Western University in London. Their daughter was finishing ninth grade, and the grandmother was a pillar of the family, the page said.
Qazi Khalil said he saw the family on Thursday when they were out for their nightly walk. The families lived close to each other and would get together on holidays, he said.
“This has totally destroyed me from the inside,” Khalil said. “I can’t really come to the terms they are no longer here.”
