ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Friday said forcibly converting people to Islam was a violation of Quran and Sunnah, DawnNews reported.

He was speaking in relation to the recent pronouncement of the Pakistani Taliban against Ismailis and the Kalash, a polytheistic people living in the picturesque Chitral Valley in northern Pakistan.

In a 50-minute long video released on Feb 2 on the TTP media wing's website, the Pakistani Taliban announced an “armed struggle” against the Kalash and Ismaili Muslims. The narrator warned the Kalash, who are thought to number only 3,500, to convert to Islam or face death.

Speaking on the subject today, Khan said harassing and threatening ordinary people and forcing them to convert was in violation of Islamic principles, adding that PTI had the utmost respect for all sections of the public and acknowledged their contributions in the country's progress.

The PTI chief further said that the violence prevailing in the country should come to an end, adding that the state should fulfill its responsibility of safeguarding the life and property of members from all sections of society.