After India's 'threat', Pakistan to do its best to rescue Malaysian palm oil

Pakistan will do its best to purchase Malaysian palm oil to offset the loss with regard to the Indian market, said its premier Imran Khan.

At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former cricket star turned politician noted how India had "threatened" Malaysia due to its firm stance on the Kashmir issue.

"Especially since we noticed that India threatened Malaysia for supporting the Kashmir cause, they threatened Malaysia to cut their (India's) palm oil import.

“Pakistan will do its best to compensate for that," he added.

Earlier, Mahathir said he had raised the palm oil issue with Imran, who is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia, during their discussion.

"We did talk about the sale of palm oil and of course, I think Pakistan is quite ready to import more palm oil from Malaysia," he added.

Mahathir's remarks on the Jammu and Kashmir conflict during his speech at the UN General Assembly last September had irked New Delhi.

"Now, despite the UN resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, the country has been invaded and occupied. There may be reasons for this action but it is still wrong.

"The problem must be solved by peaceful means. India should work with Pakistan to resolve this problem. Ignoring the UN will lead to other forms of disregard for the UN and the rule of law," he had said.

Although Mahathir did not overtly side with either Pakistan or India, his speech was seen as being critical of New Delhi.

Currently, the Indian-controlled portion of Jammu and Kashmir is under curfew, with tens of thousands of military personnel stationed there.

Although India, which is the world's largest importer of edible oils, has not imposed official curbs, it reportedly told Indian businesses to refrain from buying Malaysian palm oil, which has impacted Malaysia's exports.

Last December, Mahathir once again ruffled New Delhi's feathers when he commented on India's Citizenship Amendment Act.

The premier said he was saddened to see a secular state like India depriving Muslims of their citizenship.

"Already people are dying because of this law, so why is there a necessity to do this thing when all this while, for 70 years almost, they have lived together as citizens without any problems?

"If we do that here, you know what will happen. There will be chaos, there will be instability and everyone will suffer," he added.

The Indian government later issued a statement asking Mahathir not to interfere in its domestic affairs.

"The act does not impact in any manner on the status of any citizen of India or deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship.

"Therefore, the prime minister of Malaysia's comment is factually inaccurate. We call upon Malaysia to refrain from commenting on internal developments in India, especially without a right understanding of the facts," said its External Affairs Ministry.   - Mkini