Pakistan strongly denounces heinous attacks in Germany

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Pakistan has strongly denounced the heinous attacks in Hanau, Germany which resulted in the loss of a number of innocent lives and injuries to many others. In a statement on Friday, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said Pakistan stands in solidarity with government and people of Germany in this hour of grief. The spokesperson also expressed deep condolences to the Turkish Government over the loss of innocent Turks in the shootings. She said Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the rising tide of Islamophobia, xenophobia and racial hatred sweeping across many parts of the world. Aisha Farooqui reiterated call for concerted efforts to root out ideologies of hate, as well as address the underlying causes of hate crimes. She said Pakistan is ready to partner with Germany and all like-minded states in efforts to confront and counter Islamophobia, and to promote greater inter-religious and inter-civilizational harmony and understanding. Earlier, Frank told reporters the nine people shot dead had immigrant backgrounds. His office later said they included German citizens and foreigners aged between 21 and 44. Six more people were injured in the attack, one seriously.

VIGILS

Thousands of people gathered for candlelight vigils in about 50 German cities on Thursday evening. In Hanau, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told crowds that Germans and foreigners should unite to defeat racism. “We are mourning, we are taking part in vigils and we see that we are united both in our mourning and against racism and violence,” Steinmeier said after laying a wreath outside one of the shisha bars. The Confederation of the Communities of Kurdistan in Germany said several victims were Kurdish and accused Germany’s political leaders of “not resolutely opposing right-wing networks and right-wing terrorism”. Germany is home to three million people of Turkish origin including one million ethnic Kurds. Bulgarian public broadcaster BNT said a 32-year-old Bulgarian man was among the victims. Merkel, whose decision to welcome almost one million asylum seekers in 2015 contributed to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told reporters: “Racism is poison, hatred is poison and this poison exists in society and it is to blame for too many crimes.” In October, an anti-Semitic gunman opened fire outside a German synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, and in a kebab restaurant in the eastern city of Halle, killing two people as he livestreamed his attacks.