Did pressure from Saudi Arabia see Pakistan PM Khan skip summit in Mahathir’s Malaysia?

The KL Summit, a forum of Islamic countries, has been dealt a blow after Khan’s withdrawal

The premier reportedly pulled out over the perception the summit was meant to replace the Riyadh-dominated Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan during a 2018 meeting in Putrajaya. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:05pm, 17 Dec 2019Updated: 11:01pm, 17 Dec 2019

A highly anticipated three-day summit of Islamic countries that Malaysia is hosting later this week was dealt a blow on Tuesday after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan pulled out – purportedly under pressure from Saudi Arabia.

The office of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a statement said Khan had telephoned the 94-year-old leader to express his regret at not being able to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019.

The statement did not explain why Khan was withdrawing – the Pakistani leader had been touted as having thought up the idea of an expanded summit with Mahathir last year – but said the new event was not meant to replace the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In a visit over the weekend to Saudi Arabia that Islamabad described as part of “regular exchanges”, Khan met the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Multiple Pakistani media reports said Saudi Arabia had leaned on Khan to rethink his participation because of the perception that the KL Summit was meant to replace the OIC, which is traditionally dominated by Riyadh.

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