Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has cancelled his scheduled visit to Malaysia following his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh, The News reported.
According to reports, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be representing Pakistan in the premier’s place at the Kuala Lumpur Summit scheduled for December 18-20, which will also be attended by notable Muslim leaders, including Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
“Saudi Arabia raised serious concerns over the statement of Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad who had recently said that the Muslim countries at Kuala Lumpur Summit would form a new platform to replace the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which he said had failed to deliver on issues faced by the Muslims across the world,” the report quoted sources as saying.
Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Bahrain are perturbed over the expected presence of Qatari emir, Turkish president and Iranian president at the summit and fear a new but parallel leadership forum is being developed to undermine Saudi Arabia and its allies, it said.
The report further claimed that the UAE has also raised its concerns over Mahathir’s statement and has requested Pakistan to avoid the Kuala Lumpur Summit that “may trigger a new controversy among the Muslim Ummah”.
“PM Imran was also conveyed concerns by Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa over the intentions of the Kuala Lumpur Summit. The premier assured the royals of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain that he would not be a partof any scheme being planned to undermine the Gulf leadership,” sources were quoted as saying.
They said that UAE’s Emir Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had raised his concerns with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa three days ago on December 14 as well.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said decision about Imran Khan’s visit to Malaysia to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit will be taken according to national interest.
She noted that after his Bahrain visit, the premier will travel to Geneva and return to Pakistan Wednesday, following which a final decision regarding his Malaysia trip would be taken.
