ISLAMABAD, March 23 — The over-reliance of the Islamic countries on the developed nations has caused them to be afraid to protest against any wrongful actions by Western countries, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Prime Minister said that because of this, they had to abide by what the Western countries did.

"Islamic countries are too dependent on the developed nations for everything. Their ability is limited.

"Because the Western countries strongly support Israel, thus it has caused Islamic nations to be scared to condemn Israel, Western countries will take action against them,” he told a press conference at the end of his three-day visit to Pakistan here today. 

On his visit to Pakistan at a time when tensions are running high between India and Pakistan, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia would not take sides as it doesn’t like wars.

"We cannot side with anyone. I think this, allowing terrorists to have this upper hand, is very dangerous. We must stop terrorists, both sides (India and Pakistan) must prevent acts of terrorism. When terrorists fight, they just want to take revenge.

"They cannot conquer. What can they do?... kill people. Is that what humanity is fated for? We don’t want to take sides with anyone, but we appreciate the problems they face,” he said. — Bernama