Religion has nothing to do with terrorism: Imran Khan

New York, Sep 26 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasised that religion has no link to terrorism and that it is "marginalisation of communities (that) leads to radicalisation".

Pakistan and Turkey co-hosted a round table discussion on hate speech on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Dawn news reported.

Khan along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed the conference, which also featured a key note address by High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC) Miguel Angel Moratinos.

In his remarks, the premier noted the growing amount of "discrimination and violence based on religion and belief", a statement by the Prime Minister's Office said.

To this end, he called upon the need for addressing "both the drivers and consequences of these phenomena".

Khan also cautioned against the denigration of revered personalities under the guise of "freedom of expression and opinion".

"Religion has nothing to do with... No religion has anything to do with terrorism.

"Almost all terrorism is connected to politics. It is politically perceived injustices that produce desperate people," he added.

President Erdogan said that hate speech "emerges before worst crimes against humanity" and observed that Muslims remain the most vulnerable community to hate speech in the world.

According to a handout by the UNAOC, the high-level roundtable "is aimed at identifying measures and approaches required to effectively address and mitigate the impacts of hate speech on societies across the world, with a view to fostering tolerance and inclusivity".