Imran Khan pulls out of Indian conference 'because controversial writer Salman Rushdie will also be on the bill'



Pakistan politician Imran Khan has pulled out of speaking at a conference in India at the last minute because Salman Rushdie will also be there.



The former cricket star was due to appear alongside the British Booker Prize-winning author at Friday's event hosted by the India Today media group.

But he has now informed organisers he will not be attending because he cannot 'even think of participating in any programme that includes Salman Rushdie who has caused immeasurable hurt to Muslims across the globe'.

Controversy: Imran Khan (left) will not attend the conference in India because Salman Rushdie (right) will also be there



The group's editor-in-chief Aroon Purie told MailOnline of his regret about the cancellation.

He said: 'We deeply regret that Imran Khan will not address the India Today Conclave because of Salman Rushdie’s participation. The India Today Conclave is a platform for free and frank exchange of ideas.



'We do not endorse the views of any of our speakers but we do stand for the freedom of expression in all that we do; it’s an essential principle of a free nation and free media.



'The India Today Conclave now in its 11th year and has established itself as an independent and credible forum for thinkers and leaders from around the world not all agreeable to everyone.



Controversial figure: Mr Rushdie will participate in a discussion called The Liberty Verses alongside writer Aatish Taseer at the New Delhi event

'We wish that Imran had used this opportunity to express his views at the Conclave with all the force and lucidity that he possesses. We can all agree to disagree but we must present our argument.'

The group was told of the cancellation through a statement from Mr Khan's spokesman.

It read: 'He regrets that he will be unable to participate in the India Today Conclave as he has just become aware of Mr Salman Rushdie’s participation in the same.

'He wants to state categorically that he cannot even think of participating in any programme that includes Salman Rushdie who has caused immeasurable hurt to Muslims across the globe.'



Salman Rushdie's return to India this week comes less than two months after death threats forced him to pull out of Asia's biggest literary festival in the country.

The author cancelled a trip to India in late January after news of his visit upset some Indian Muslim groups.

Mr Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses is considered blasphemous by some Muslim s b ecause of the way it portrayed the Prophet Muhammad.

The British Indian writer, who spent years in hiding after the book's publication, subsequently accused Indian authorities of pandering to zealots, and spoke in a television interview of India becoming 'a totalitarian state like China'.

Mr Rushdie, who won the Booker Prize for his novel Midnight's Children in 1981, will speak on Friday in New Delhi alongside writer Aatish Taseer.

He will participate in a discussion called The Liberty Verses, according to the event's website.

Ashok Damodaran, a senior editor at the India Today Group, said: 'So far there has been no demand for his ban.'



'I think it's excellent,' said author William Dalrymple, who was the director of the Jaipur Literature Festival which Mr Rushdie had been scheduled to attend, referring to the author's plan to return.

He added: 'Our mistake at Jaipur was to announce his visit three weeks in advance, which gave everyone who opposed his visit time to mobilise.

'And of course it took place during an election.'

Aatish Taseer is the son of Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province who was killed by his own bodyguard last year because he had called for the reform of the country's anti-blasphemy law.

The 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses sparked protests around the world and death threats against Mr Rushdie after Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini claimed that the novel's portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad insulted Islam.

Mr Rushdie has not commented on his latest visit to India, the first country to ban the book.

India's Congress party-led government has been hit by accusations of censorship since late last year, when New Delhi urged social network companies including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove offensive material.

The row over Mr Rushdie's appearance at the Jaipur festival led to further criticism of the Congress party, which at the time was approaching a crucial election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and home to a large Muslim minority.

Mr Dalrymple said: ' There has been some positive outcome from the whole experience at Jaipur, in that it did provoke a national debate.'

It emerged last month that Mr Rushdie’s attempts to wed for the fifth time were wrecked after a marriage proposal to his latest girlfriend was rejected.

Michelle Barish turned down his request and gave back the seven-carat emerald-cut diamond ring he had given her.