Pakistan's Imran Khan cancels Malaysia trip under pressure from Saudi Arabia's MbS

Succumbing to pressure from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan premier Imran Khan has decided to cancel his visit to Malaysia, which was scheduled for the next week. In a mortifying episode, the Prime Minister of Pakistan made the decision to give the summit a miss, after he was summoned by the Kingdom monarch on Saturday. Previously, Imran Khan had accepted the invitation extended from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad to attend the summit next week in Kuala Lumpur. 

Imran Khan's one-day visit on December 14, was his fourth visit to the Kingdom this year. In October 2018, the leader of the cash-strapped country admitted they Pakistan was "facing really hard times" and acquired another $3 billion dollars in aid and another $3 billion dollars in loans. Within a few months, in February 2019, Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman announced over $20 billion worth of investments in Pakistan. 

Reports even noted that Imran Khan had assured the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Pakistan will never undermind the interests of the Kingdom. Riyadh is also known to be a key player in helping Pakistan improve its ties with the United States. It is believed that the Saudi crown prince had helped Imran secure the White House invitation in July this year.

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Repaying a diplomacy price, Imran Khan, who canceled his visit to Malaysia, had himself proposed the summit on the sidelines on UN General Assembly in New York in September this year. During the UN, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia had announced to jointly launch an English channel to accentuate the plight of Muslims and confront Islamophobia in the West. In the aftermath of this, Mohammed bin Salman had reportedly ordered his 'private jet to disembark the Pakistani delegation' after Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince was left "alienated" with "some dimensions" of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's diplomacy at the UN General Assembly.

According to claims by a Pakistani magazine the Kingdom's Crown Prince was miffed with Imran Khan's "interlocution" with the foe, Iran's Hassan Rouhani.  Mohammed bin Salman was also reportedly unhappy at the prospect of Pakistan PM along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad planning to establish a news channel together. 

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Kuala Lumpur Summit

The Kuala Lumpur Summit hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from December 19-21 was being seen as an attempt to create a new bloc in the Muslim world that could become an alternative to the dysfunctional Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) led by the Saudis, according to Pakistani media reports. Imran Khan reportedly telephoned the Malaysian Prime Minister to inform about his absence. The news of Khan's non-participation was announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office in a statement on Tuesday. 

The statement also said that the Malaysian prime minister would also like to "correct some misinformation" that alleged Mahathir as saying that the KL Summit was intended to be a platform to replace the OIC. The summit will find in attendance-- Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Hamad al-Thani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Saudi Arabia shares a hostile relationship with all three Middle Eastern countries. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is a key ally of financially tethering Pakistan. 

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