Islamabad, Mar 15: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that increasing "Islamophobia" after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US was responsible for the attack on two mosques in New Zealand that killed at least 49 worshippers.

"Strongly condemning" the terror attack on the mosques in New Zealand, Prime Minister Khan tweeted: This reaffirms what we have always maintained: that terrorism does not have a religion. Prayers go to the victims and their families."

At least 49 people were killed in attacks on the Al Noor Mosque in central Christchurch and the Linwood Mosque in the city's outer suburb, in what appeared to be the worst attack on Muslims in a western country.

Khan said that increasing Islamophobia after 9/11 was responsible for this act of terror and Muslims were demonised deliberately.

I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 where Islam & 1.3 bn Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror by a Muslim. This has been done deliberately to also demonise legitimate Muslim political struggles, he tweeted.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also condemned the terrorist attack in New Zealand in the strongest terms.

He expressed condolences over loss of innocent lives in the heinous attack .

Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal tweeted that Pakistan High Commission is in constant touch with the local authorities in New Zealand to ascertain further details on the attacks.

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Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.

The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.

"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.

Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.

He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.

Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.

The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.

Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.

He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.