PM Imran blasts French president for encouraging the Islamophobia

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the hallmark of a leader is that he unites human beings, as Nelson Mandela did, rather than dividing them.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, the Prime Minister said this is a time when French President Macron could have put healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation and marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation.
The Prime Minister said that it is unfortunate that President Macron has chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists. He said public statements based on ignorance will create more hate, Islamophobia and space for extremists.
The French president is being criticised and protests have broken out in several cities of the world after Macron accused Muslims of separatism and vowed not to give up cartoons depicting the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
His comments came in response to the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old teacher, who was attacked on his way home from the junior high school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometres northwest of Paris.
The teacher had shown cartoons disrespecting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
France has recently stepped up measures in the country which its Muslim community views as anti-Islam. The French government has said it fears militancy is taking over some Muslim communities in the country.
PM Imran Khan is the second prominent Muslim leader to slam Macron for his anti-Muslim statements and policies. Turkish President Erdogan earlier lashed out at the French president, suggesting that he required “mental treatment”.
The statement was not well received by France as the country recalled its ambassador. – TLTP