Donald Trump speaks out against honour killings

Washington, Aug 16: In the wake of recent incidents of honour killing in Pakistan, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said that if elected, his administration would be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers and will amplify their voices.

"Our administration would be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers in the Middle East and will amplify their voices," Trump said in a major policy speech in Ohio.

"This includes speaking out against the horrible practice of honour killings, where women are murdered by their relatives for dressing, marrying or acting in a way that violates fundamentalist teachings. Over 1,000 Pakistani girls are estimated to be the victims of honour killings by their relatives each year," he said.

"Recently a prominent Pakistani social media star was strangled to death by her brother on the charge of dishonouring the family. In his confession, the brother took pride in the murder and said,"Girls are born to stay home and follow traditions." Shockingly, this is a tradition that has reached our own shores," Trump said.

"On such cases, and many, many cases have happened - where one involves an Iraqi immigrant who was sentenced to 34 years in jail for running over his own daughter, claiming she had been too Westernised," Trump said.

Trump said ideological warfare would be very important part of his administration's policy to defeat radical Islam.

"We must use ideological warfare as well. Very important. And they use it on us, better than we have ever even thought of using it on them. But that will change," he said.

"Just as we won, just as we won the Cold War in part by exposing the evils of communism and the virtues of free markets, so too must we take on the ideology of radical Islam," he said.

"While my opponent accepted millions of dollars in foundation donations from countries where being gay is an offence punishable by prison or death, my administration will speak out against the oppression of women, gays and people of different beliefs," Trump said.

PTI