Imran proposes strategic alliance to combat Islamophobia.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday proposed forming a strategic alliance among Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey to combat growing Islamophobia, a cabinet minister told The Express Tribune.

He added Prime Minister Imran Khan floated the idea during a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad.

In addition to joining hands against corruption, the leadership of both the countries also decided to strengthen cooperation in areas of defense, information technology, automobile and halal food.

Meanwhile, speaking at the joint news conference, Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated the Malaysian leader and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for taking a stand on issues affecting the Muslims in the world.

'Any crime committed by a Muslim is immediately blamed on 3.2 billion Muslims,' said the prime minister while urging the leadership of the Islamic countries to work together against Islamophobia.

Mahathir underscored the need to find ways at countering the feeling of hatred generated by the Western media against Muslims.

During the delegation-level talks, the Malaysian prime minister suggested that instead of taking revenge, the Muslim nations should work together to advocate the true image of Islam to the world, another participant of the meeting told The Express Tribune.

'Mahathir Mohamad is the statesman of the Muslim world and his views are heard and respected by everybody,' said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

The Malaysian prime minister said three Malaysians were also martyred in the Christchurch mosque attack along with nine Pakistanis.

'The feeling of hatred is generated by the media and we need to find ways to win over the hearts and minds of people to combat Islamophobia,' said Mahathir.

He underscored the need of unity among the Muslim nations amid a rising wave of Islamophobia around the world.

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'I have noticed that there is fear of and enmity towards us as Muslims. The recent terror attack in New Zealand claimed the lives of nine Pakistanis and affected three from Malaysia. This attack happened because of the feeling of hatred towards Muslims.'

Mahathir said Pakistan and Malaysia understood the need to find ways to combat Islamophobia. 'This is our priority,' he said and added, 'We must work to improve the perception of Muslims in the world.'

'We must change the prevailing atmosphere of fear; we must also realise that fighting back does not...