'Terrible and sad': Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan condemns attack on Salman Rushdie

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party chief Imran Khan reacted to the recent horrific attack on British author Salman Rushdie during an interview with The Guardian.

Khan condemned the stabbing incident but he also said that the anger of the Islamic world at Rushdie's controversial book "The Satanic Verses" was understandable. The former Pakistan PM further added that the anger can not justify the assault.

On being asked about the attack, Imran said, "I think it's terrible, sad."

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Imran Khan added, "Rushdie understood, because he came from a Muslim family. He knows the love, respect, and reverence of the prophet that lives in our hearts. He knew that. So the anger I understood, but you can't justify what happened."

Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey man, the accused attacker of Rushdie, praised Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in an exclusive jailhouse interview with The Post on August 17.

"When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess," Matar said in a video interview from the Chautauqua County Jail, admitting that he believed the author would not survive.

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Rushdie spent years hiding under death threats from Iran because of his novel "The Satanic Verses". The novel was banned in many countries with large Muslim populations.

In a recent interview from prison, Matar told the Post that he had only "read a couple of pages" of "The Satanic Verses". He also said that a tweet in the winter announcing the author's visit to the Chautauqua Institution gave him the idea of going there.

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