Khizr Khan urges Donald Trump to bring United States together

WASHINGTON: Khizr Khan, the father of a decorated American soldier killed in Iraq and who lashed out at Donald Trump during Hillary Clinton’s election campaign for saying his son would still be alive if Trump had been president at the time, said he has no regret for criticising him.

Khan told NBC10 Philadelphia on Thursday that he did the right thing by speaking out against Trump and against a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

“As a grateful citizen of this country, whenever you see that your values, the values of this country are being challenged, it’s an obligation of all citizens, all patriots regardless of party affiliation to stand up and be counted and remind each other that we have much better values: plurality, moving forward together, equal dignity, equal protection of law,” he said.

Video by NBC10 Philadelphia

Khan added, “These are the basic fundamental values and we will continue to remind each other.”

With his wife Ghazala, Khan won widespread praise when he spoke at a Democratic National Convention, telling the story of his son, US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2004.

He also attacked Trump for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US and asked if the candidate had read the US Constitution.

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Khan pulled out a pocket-copy from the inside of his suit coat, in one of the most commented moments on the night when Clinton accepted her party’s nomination for president.

On Thursday, Khan now urged the US president-elect to bring the country together.

“We are disappointed, that’s not what we are expecting, but this is the time to move forward and begin to give hope to those that are distraught, disappointed, and that is the role that I wish to continue to play so that we can continue to move forward,” he said.

“This nation needs to move forward, and move forward together, not divided, and that is his responsibility now, to bring us all together and move us all forward without division.”