Pak says Trump ban to affect unity against terrorism

Islamabad: Pakistan criticised US President Donald Trump’s visa policy for travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries saying it will harm the international unity against terrorism.

Mr Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

“The new US visa policy will not affect terrorists; rather it will increase the woes of people affected from terrorism,” interior minister Chaudhry Nisar was quoted as saying by Geo News.

“It will harm the international unity and harmony among world fraternity against terrorism. There are around 1.5 billion Muslims around the world and only a few hundreds of them are negating Islam’s message of peace,” Mr Nisar added. “Pointing fingers at Muslims or Islam will benefit terrorists.”

Mr Nisar’s comments came after a top White House official suggested that more countries like Pakistan could be added to the ban list of Muslim countries that already include Libya, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus while defending Trump’s decision had said, “You can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others—perhaps we need to take it further. But for now, immediate steps, pulling the Band-Aid off, is to do further vetting for people traveling in and out of those countries.”