KL Summit visit shelved

After much speculation since last week, it has finally been revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be attending the much-anticipated Kuala Lumpur Summit being held in the Malaysian capital hosted by Mahathir Muhammad. This is the latest attempt to disrupt the conference intended to bring the bitterly-divided Muslims countries together.

There has been no word from the Foreign Office but there were indications that the visit may be called off. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is expected to represent the nation. We finally heard from the Malaysian PM’s office that Imran Khan has expressed regret for not being able to attend the summit where he was expected to share his thoughts on the state of affairs of the Islamic world. The Indonesian president has also decided not to attend the summit, likely bowing to middle eastern pressure.

Prescient Mahathir clarified misinformation in various sections of the media that the KL Summit was not intended to replace the Jeddah-based OIC. It is unfortunate that a summit that was supposed to unite the Muslim world has been a victim of political conflicts. There has been no Arab participation-except Qatar- in the summit. The small effort to bring  Muslims together has been sabotaged. This calls for introspection among Muslim leaders; there must be mutual understanding and unity within the religious community before issues can be resolved.

The summit is a not a platform to discuss religious affairs but rather the current situation of the Muslim world. Muslims are facing oppression, wars, conflicts, and a total destruction of their cities. Many people are forced to flee their homelands to non-Muslim countries. Islamaophobia has been on the rise in the West and ironically there is no Muslim country which is fully developed yet.

The KL submit was initiated to address the growing concerns of the Muslim community globally. It was launched when Imran Khan met Mahathir and Turkish President Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. Iran, Qatar, and Indonesia joined in but the Arab world was displeased as it does not have good relations with several of these countries.  

Malaysia has been a trusted friend of Pakistan for decades now. Mahathir was one of the few leaders who supported Pakistan’s stance on occupied Kashmir at the UN. This irked India but Mahathir remained steadfast over his comments. Pakistan should not alter its relations with a country to maintain good relations with another. 

The prime minister dashed to Saudi Arabia last week to assuage concerns over his participation. It seems that he also succumbed to pressure to not attend the summit. Imran Khan should emerge as global leader and should not give an impression that he has bowed to demands by the Kingdom. Pakistan should maintain relations Muslim countries across the globe and make efforts to bring them closer.