ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a Muslim statesman who has transformed Malaysia into a model for the Muslim world.
He said Pakistan took pride in the way that Malaysia had developed and raised the standard of living under the premiership of Dr Mahathir
“We followed (the development) very closely as Pakistan has always had a good relationship with Malaysia. We admire you for that,” he said in a joint press conference with Dr Mahathir after the Malaysia-Pakistan delegation bilateral meeting, here, today.
Imran said he and Pakistan also admired Dr Mahathir for taking a stand on issues which affected the Muslim world, as very few Muslim leaders were willing to do that.
“Like the war on terrorism, the way it affected the Muslim world.
“The way Islamophobia has spread in the western world.
“The way Muslims are treated because of confusing and deliberate political struggle.
“Any crime that is committed by a Muslim, immediately the whole 1.3 billion Muslims will be blamed for the crime.
“This was reflected in the Christchurch killing, a terrorist shooting innocent people, women and children in the mosque, without feeling regretful.
“We in the Muslim world have been watching you take the stand for what affected the Muslims,” he said.
Imran said there were two leaders in the Muslim world who stood out on international issues and had transformed society — Dr Mahathir and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We watched Malaysia transform and how the standard of living and per capita income has gone up.
“Now, Pakistani labour starts to head for Malaysia... jobs created so labour from Pakistan will go to Malaysia.
”During the 1998 Southeast Asian economic crisis, Malaysia was the only one that managed to get out of the crisis through homegrown solutions.
“We, Pakistan, now face a difficult economic situation ..mand so many things to do to get out from it,” he said. – Bernama