Claim: Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed Muslims in France for terrorism following meeting with Bosnian President
Fact: PM Khan condemned Muslims for terrorism in France, while also highlighting that freedom of speech should not be used as an instrument to hurt religious communities.
On November 4, the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina Sefik Szaferovic arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit. He was received by Prime Minister Imran Khan at his residence where they had a meeting. Following this, Imran Khan addressed a press conference in which detailed the minutes of their meeting.
After the address, one of his statements was taken out of context by 24News. In its 6 pm bulletin on November 7, the news organisation claimed that the Prime Minister ‘blamed’ Muslims for terrorism in France (timestamp 23:47 – 24:28). The bulletin then telecasted a snippet of his statement where he condemned the terrorist attacks in France by Muslims.
Soch Fact Check found this report to be misleading. In the original clip of his address, the Prime Minister’s complete statement can be found (timestamped 1:00 – 1:35). He said, “And we also discussed what’s happening in France, both of us condemned the terrorist acts by Muslims in France like all countries would condemn them. But at the same time, we felt that for inter-religious harmony, it is important that freedom of speech is not used as an instrument to hurt the feelings of any religious community.” The first part of this statement went viral on social media, following which the report by 24News was telecasted, claiming that Imran Khan has blamed Muslims for terrorism without highlighting what he said after that statement.
Soch Fact Check was sent this claim to investigate through through our website. If you see any news that you believe could be false or misleading, send it to us for verification here.
Summary: Imran Khan’s statement after his meeting with the Bosnian President was taken out of context to claim that he only blamed Muslims in France for terrorism. In his full statement, he also highlighted that freedom of speech should not be used as an instrument to hurt the sentiments of religious communities.
Why did he have to blame the Muslims in France at all and call their struggle to retain their identity an act of terrorism? They were merely reacting to the suppression by the French govt.
Next, he would say that the Muslims in Kashmir fighting the oppression by the Indian forces and the 24 hour curfew imposed since more than a year are also terrorists.