Envoy to Canada calls for end to Islamophobia as vigils held for terror attack victims

Pakistan High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar Thursday reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for global leadership to act collectively against Islamophobia.

The envoy, while addressing two separate virtual memorial services and prayer sessions to offer condolences and prayers for victims of terrorist attack on a Pakistani Canadian family last Sunday, said the end to Islamophobia was also essential to protect innocent people from being targeted because of their Muslim faith.

The memorial services were organised by Muslim and Pakistani organisations in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada.
A large number of Canadian MPs, community leaders and persons from all walks of life attended the sessions and expressed horror at the brutal attack that claimed four innocent lives.

Raza Bashir Tarar told the audience that the Sunday tragedy and the harrowing manner in which it unfolded had caused shockwaves in Canada and elsewhere in the world.Its ripple effects were also severely felt in Pakistan where the prime minister and foreign minister had led the calls from the entire Pakistani nation, including the parliament, condemning the killings and calling for unified global efforts to end Muslim-hate and Islamophobia.

The high commissioner said that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Canadian Counterpart Marc Garneau had also telephonically spoken to share their collective grief on the killings and work together to fight against Islamophobia. He said that both Pakistan and Canada could cooperate at multilateral forums to combat the phenomenon of Islamophobia.

The high commissioner thanked the Canadian leadership, civil society, the media and the Canadian people from all spectrums of life for coming forward in support to the family of the victims. He said that he had faith in the Canadian system of justice and police and hoped the family of the victims would get full justice and their sacrifices would lead to global efforts for end to Islamophobia.