LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to not attend the Kuala Lumpur (KL) summit was the “mother of all U-turns”.

He said Pakistan had itself suggested holding the Muslim countries’ summit, remained part and parcel in consultations with countries that had supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and eventually boycotted it. “It was the mother of all U-turns,” he said.

Speaking to media persons after a seminar on “Friends of Silk Route” organised by Pakistan-China Institute at a local hotel on Saturday, the PML-N senator said Pakistan planned to participate in the summit, sought proposals, and then started backtracking saying Prime Minister Imran Khan would not go but foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would go and then he too stood away.

He said it was unfortunate that the Pakistan government boycotted the Kuala Lumpur summit which might affect Pakistan’s national interest and international image. “Saudi Arabia is our old friend and we should have taken it into confidence in this regard, rather represented it (Saudi Arabia) in it,” he said.

Stating that he himself was present at the Kuala Lumpur summit, Mr Syed said he saw flexes bearing pictures of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The summit was attended by over 400 Muslim leaders, intellectuals, scholars and thinkers from 52 countries in Kuala Lumpur. The foreign leaders met to explore new and workable solutions for problems afflicting the Muslim world.

Pakistan was one of the first countries with which Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir had shared his plans for holding the summit when he met Prime Minister Imran along with Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September.

Later, Prime Minister Imran Khan formally conveyed his acceptance of the invitation for attending the summit when Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia Marzuki Bin Haji Yahya called on him in Islamabad on November 29.

However, after his visit to Saudi Arabia, the premier decided to stay away from the Kuala Lumpur summit. According to reports, he withdrew due to pressure exerted by the kingdom, which had extended a helping hand to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government during its early days to stave off an economic crisis.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2019