Statement on Salman Rushdie attack taken out of context: Former Pak PM Imran Khan
India Today
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said his statement on Salman Rushdie's attack was taken out of context.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday claimed that his remarks in a British newspaper regarding the attempted murder of Mumbai-born author Salman Rushdie were "taken out of context".
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident identified as Hadi Matar, a US national of Lebanese origin, on stage last week while he was being introduced at a literary event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.
He suffered three stab wounds to his neck, four stab wounds to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a laceration on his right thigh, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said during the suspect's arraignment.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Khan condemned the knife attack on Rushdie, claiming that the anger of Muslims against the author was understandable but didn't justify the attack.
"I think it is terrible, sad," Imran told the publication in a comment on the violent attack that put Rushdie on a ventilator.
However, the official Twitter account for the Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman (PTI), clarified that Imran’s statement was “taken out of context”, and that he had refused to attend a seminar in India in 2012 because Rushdie was also invited, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
“In the interview, I explained the Islamic method of punishing blasphemers,” he said.
