KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes his counterpart from Pakistan, Imran Khan has his own reasons for not being able to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit (KL Summit) 2019. 

"That is his choice. We cannot force. In Islam, there is no compulsion. He cannot make it, perhaps he has some other problems,” he told reporters after checking on preparations for the summit that will take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here. 

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement issued today, confirmed that Imran will not be attending the KL Summit 2019 taking place here from tomorrow till Saturday. 

Commenting further on participation at the summit meeting, Dr Mahathir said Kuala Lumpur as the host had invited 50 nations including the heads of state to be involved together in the various discussions concerning the Islamic world. He said the conference had nothing to do with discussions on the Islamic religion, on the other hand, the focus would be on the Ummah who were now perceived to be more and more pressured. "At the UN (United Nations) I, (Turkish President Recep Tayyib) Erdogan, Imran, discussed the problems faced by the Muslims. One of the proposals was that we explain that there was no reason for the fear against Islamic religion, Islamophobia,”he said. He hoped that the four-day conference would be able to reach an understanding on how to handle Islamophobia. The KL Summit Meeting beginning tomorrow until Saturday is preceded by the KL Youth Summit Meeting today and tomorrow.

The summit meeting also aimed to discuss and find a new solution to the problems facing the Islamic world and contributing towards improving the situation in the Islamic nations. — Bernama