Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia discuss ways to enhance cooperation

Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia held a trilateral meeting in New York to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in a broad range of areas.

It was participated by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad of Malaysia.

The meeting also exchanged views on regional and global developments and trends.

The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey held the first ministerial trilateral meeting at the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Jeddah in May this year.

Keeping in view the magnitude of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey, the three Foreign Ministers had decided to hold trilateral summit meeting on sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Prime Minister Imran Khan told the editorial board of The New York Times about the dangers to regional and international peace the crisis in Kashmir can be a harbinger for.

Prime Minister Imran Khan apprised the delegation about the gravity of the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir created by India’s illegal annexation and its barbaric actions including the continuing curfew.

Revealing his fears to the journalists regarding the issue, PM said: “There is a danger of a bloodbath in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The world must act to avert this, I fear that it would then be too little too late.”

Earlier in the day, speaking at a high-level round-table discussion on “Countering Hate Speech” in the United Nations (UN) alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, PM Imran Khan said that terrorism has nothing to do with any religion but it is the marginalization of any community that leads to radicalization.

Noting the growing incidents of discrimination and violence, the prime minister underscored the importance of addressing both the catalysts and consequences of the phenomena.

Imran Khan maintained that terrorism has nothing to do with any religion but sadly, some western leaders associated suicide bombings and acts of terror with Islam and coined terms like ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ and ‘Islamic extremism’ for political benefits without taking into consideration how this behavior might give rise to Islamophobia.