Also claims biggest obstacle to defeating jihadists is “Islamophobia.”

LONDON: Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday said the biggest hurdle in efforts against terrorism was growing Islamophobia.

Addressing a press conference in London, he said there was no Islam bashing at the summit in Washington on countering violent extremism and it was welcoming that nobody made a connection between Islam and terrorism.

“Islamophobia is an insult to the sacrifices made by thousands of Muslims,” he added.

The minister was interacting with members of the press after meetings with US and British government officials in Washington and London respectively.

He said Pakistan and Britain were few of the countries that made key note speeches at the summit attended by ministerial level representatives.

US President Barack Obama also made a courageous speech, Nisar said, adding he met the American president, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

The conference was disappointment for those elements who were trying for many years to correlate Islam and terrorism, the minister noted adding economies of Islamic countries suffered immense losses in the fight against terrorism.

“Extremists were trying to create divisions on religious lines and the vested interests accentuate these tendencies.” He said Pakistan had lost 50,000 of its citizens and more than 99 per cent of them were Muslims. It cannot be called Islamic terrorism when Muslims are the target, he added.

The minister said vested interests and a section of society had criticised Islam and Islamic personalities.