PM informs Mahathir about decision for not attending Kuala Lumpur Summit

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday informed his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Muhammad about decision for not attending Kuala Lumpur Summit. According to the sources, Imran Khan informed Mahathir about his decision during the telephonic conversations. He also explains the Malaysian prime minister regarding Saudi Arabia’s reservations. The sources also said that PM Khan expressed his regrets for not being able to attend the summit, which starts tomorrow till Saturday. In the telephonic conversations, Dr Mahathir hailed Imran Khan’s call to inform of his inability to attend the summit where the Pakistani leader was expected to speak and share his thoughts on the state of affairs of the Islamic world. The Malaysian prime minister said that he can understand the position of Pakistan and assured to remove all reservations of Saudi Arabia after his visit there soon. Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to become neutral on this matter and PM Khan cancelled to the visit to attend Kuala Lumpur Summit. Imran Khan cancelled his scheduled visit to Malaysia. Sources in the Foreign Ministry said that the Malaysian prime minister had been informed about the decision. No Pakistani representative will participate in Kuala Lumpur Summit. 92 News had informed its viewers that there were bleak chances of Prime Minister Imran Khan visiting Malaysia. On the other hand, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also not attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 as he has cancelled his visit to Malaysia following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s similar decision. According to diplomatic sources, Qureshi was expected to represent Pakistan at the summit after PM Imran informed his Malaysian counterpart about his unavailability. The Kuala Lumpur Summit which is into its 5th edition is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) initiative, supported by the Malaysian government and is not intended to create a new bloc as alluded to by some of its critics. In addition, the Summit is not a platform to discuss about religion or religious affairs but specifically to address the state of affairs of the Muslim Ummah.