KUALA LUMPUR/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has opted out of the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019.
In a press statement, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he had received a call from Khan on Monday, in which the Pakistani leader conveyed his regret over not being able to attend the event which begins on Wednesday and will run through Saturday.
He also labeled as “misinformation” the allegations that the summit was intended to become a competitor to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Khan was expected to be one of the summit’s key speakers, who also include other Mulsim world leaders.
Mahathir said Malaysia “has invited all 56 countries of the Islamic world and all 56 are represented at various levels.”
“As a small nation, Malaysia is fully aware of its limitations and capabilities. We are merely attempting to contribute what little we can to the betterment of the Ummah,” he added.
According to daily Dawn Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while talking to a group of journalists in Islamabad on Tuesday, said no one from Pakistan would attend the summit in Kuala Lumpur.
