Kuala Lumpur summit: A challenge to Saudi leadership?

On Nov. 23, Malaysia’s prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, announced that his country will stage an
Islamic summit in Kuala Lumpur from Dec. 19-21.It is the 5th edition of this summit . event, on the
theme of “The Role of Development in Achieving National Security,” will feature representatives from
the host country as well as Indonesia, Qatar, and Turkey .Divisions in the Muslim world were self-evident
as only about 20 countries sent leaders, or delegations to the Kuala Lumpur summit, though all 57
members of the OIC had been invited

Mahathir said that the summit will be the first step toward finding solutions to the Islamic world’s ills,
and he asked for international support for this effort. We are not going to isolate anyone .We are
attempting to start small and if these ideas, proposals and solutions are acceptable and prove workable,
then we hope to take it up to the larger platform for consideration.

Problems that will be discussed

the displacement of Muslims worldwide

food security

national/cultural identity

Islamophobia

technology, trade

internet governance

security.

summit in Malaysia will be about laying the foundations for an Islamic alliance that could pursue joint
projects, including, eventually, the introduction of a common currency.

Saudi Arabia, not invited. Further, the summit is to serve as an alternative to the Jeddah-headquartered
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is under Saudi Arabia’s de facto leadership.

Qatar and Turkey already have spoken about China Uighurs but not here

Kashmir leaves KL Summit divided as Pakistan pulls out

While the issue of Kashmir was not specifically mentioned by Saudi Arabia as one of the issues from the
Muslim world, Riyadh has maintained neutrality over the Kashmir issue since August 5. The Kingdom
backed India on the issue of cross-border ter...

: Worst U-Turn of Imran Khan in his Career

Turkesh president says Saudi shaped Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision as he cancelled his
visit and said they will bring back 40lakh muslims working in saudia and employ Bangladeshis rather
than them ,an also withdraw their money ($6 bn )from pakistani banks kept as aid to counter economic
crisis .Shah Mehmood Qureshi also says we taken U turn bcz Saudia and UAE were concerned and it will
cause division in muslim ummah .Saudia denies any pressure on pak

Pakistan was one of the first countries with whom Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamed shared his plans
for holding the summit, when he met Khan along with the Turkish President on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly session in New York in September.

Later, Khan formally conveyed his acceptance of the invitation for attending the summit when deputy
foreign minister Marzuki Bin Haji Yahya of Malaysia called on him in Islamabad on November 29.

Qureshi said it was decided that Pakistan would first seek to bridge the gap between Riyadh and Kuala
Lumpur.

“Dr Mahathir received a call from Imran Khan expressing regret for not being able to attend the KL
Summit. Dr Mahathir appreciates Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call to inform him of his inability to
attend the summit,

, Malaysian PM apparently clarified to the Saudi King that the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 is not
intended to create a new bloc to replace the OIC.

Malysian president condems use of police on protestors in india against Citizenship bill 2019 and
condemns bill .India summons malysian envoy and calls it interference in internal affairs

Erdoğan: Fate of 1.7 billion Muslims in the world should not be in hands of 5 countries of UN He went
on to say: "Unfortunately, we [Muslim countries] are wasting our energy on internal disputes at a time
when artificial intelligence, quantum computers, robotic technologies are discussed."As they try to
silence Turkey, we insist on calling attention to Palestine, Gaza, the Rohingya, Libya, Somalia and Syria,"
he stressed.Instead of doing trade using foreign currency, we would like to trade with our own national
currencies, says Erdogan and Rohani to reduce dependence on US dollar and effects of trade war

Failures of Summit :
Left Ummah more divided than before

Kashmir and Uighur issue not discussed

Only 20 leaders attended

Shows Pak is not neutral

Success: Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and
through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them,

At the end of the Islamic summit in Malaysia, Mahathir praised Iran and Qatar for withstanding
economic embargoes and said it was important for the Muslim world to be self-reliant to face future
threats

“With the world witnessing nations making unilateral decisions to impose such punitive measures,
Malaysia and other nations must always bear in mind that it can be imposed on any of us,” Mahathir
said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar
about 2-1/2-years ago over allegations it backed terrorism, a charge Doha denied. Iran, meanwhile, has
been hit badly after the United States reimposed sanctions on it last year

“” The leaders agreed they needed to do more business among themselves and trade in each other’s
currencies.

By the fourth and final day of the summit, no joint statement had been released.

Meanwhile, a war of words has started between Turkey and Saudi Arabia — the two member states of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — following Pakistan’s nonparticipation in the Malaysia-
sponsored Islamic Summit in Kuala Lumpur.Erdogan's statement embarrassed Pakistan

Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019: a lost opportunity

Firstly, on the home front, depicts how the parliament was not taken into confidence. The beauty of a
democratic state lies in seeking consensus of its members of the parliament

Secondly, by skipping the KLS, Pakistan has lost a golden opportunity of building alliances for support
against India. No Muslim organisation in the past, be it the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) or
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), had backed Pakistan on the Kashmir crisis. The United Arab
Emirates (UAE) had even declared Kashmir “India’s internal matter.” The GCC, in return, signed dozens
of business deals with India. Bahrain and the UAE also conferred their highest civil awards to Indian
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. By not joining Turkey and Malaysia, which have remained with Pakistan
on Kashmir, on the platforms of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG), Pakistan has made a lamentable foreign policy decision.

Thirdly, the lost opportunity of creating a media outlet on the model of Al-Jazeera. .

Fourthly, it was also a godsend opportunity to consolidate bilateral ties with Iran. Iran is presently
distancing itself from India because the Iranian Parliament (Majlis-e-Shura) passed a resolution
condemning Indian oppression in Kashmir. Likewise, Iran’s ambassador to India in September expressed
Iran’s interest in building an LNG pipeline alongside the CPEC . Diminishing the dependence of India on
Iranian oil could have brought Pakistan and Iran together at the KLS.

Fifthly, Turkey, which has burdened the flow of Syrian refugees into its territory, had proposed to use
the KLS platform to sort out the refugee crisis in the Muslim world. Pakistan, too, is grappling with over a
million Afghan refugees present on its soil because of the perpetuation of decades-long civil War in
Afghanistan. It was an opportune time to solve the troublesome issue of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

Sixthly, it could have afforded tremendous economic opportunities for Pakistan. Malaysia had expressed
its desire to buy the PAC JF-17 Thunder aircrafts from Pakistan. Iran, likewise, was mulling over the
purchase of PAC MFI-17 Mushshak trainers from Pakistan. There were reports that Turkey and Malaysia
were planning to sign investment deals with Pakistan. It could have boosted Pakistan’s shrinking
economy.

should reign supreme. Pakistan must accept a friend in need is a friend indeed!