Riyadh forced Islamabad to skip Malaysia moot: Erdogan.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan on Friday cited reasons for keeping itself away from the Kuala Lumpur Summit after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's allegation that Islamabad skipped the moot because of pressure from Saudi Arabia.

'Pakistan did not participate in the KL summit as time and efforts were needed to address the concerns of major Muslim countries regarding possible division in the Ummah,' said FO spokesperson Aisha Farooqui in a statement.

Pakistan would continue to work for the unity and solidarity of the Ummah, which was indispensable for effectively addressing the challenges faced by the Muslim world, she said.

While confirming that the government had decided against attending the summit, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had also said on Tuesday the decision had been taken in order to assert neutrality as Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had expressed concerns the move could cause a division among the Muslim countries and lead to the setting up of an entity parallel to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

FO says Pakistan didn't participate in KL Summit as time and efforts were needed to address concerns of major Muslim countries regarding possible division in Ummah

President Erdogan, according to Turkish media, said Riyadh coerced Islamabad into skipping the summit after Prime Minister Imran Khan had confirmed his participation in the event.

Saudi Arabia threatened to expel Pakistani expatriates living in the kingdom and withdraw the amount deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan last year for shoring up foreign exchange reserves, the Turkish president said.

'Unfortunately, we see that Saudi Arabia pressures Pakistan. Now, there are promises that the country has given to Pakistan regarding the central bank. However, more than that, there are four million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia. They (threaten by saying that they) would send (Pakistanis) back and re-employ Bangladeshi people instead,' Mr Erdogan said.

According to the Turkish leader, Pakistan had to fall in line due to its...