Pakistan, Turkey And Malaysia To Jointly Launch English Channel To ‘Correct Misconceptions’ About Islam: Imran Khan

Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia - three Sunni Muslim majority nations are planning to band together to launch an English media channel for ‘setting the record straight’ on Islam, Pakistani PM Imran Khan tweeted.

As per the tweets, the channel will be geared towards fighting Islamophobia, contextualising blasphemy and giving Muslims media space among others.

The statement comes as the UN summit at New York saw Turkish president Recep Erdogan raking up the issue of Kashmir at the UN General Assembly, being among the few nations that support Pakistan on the issue.

Pakistan has lately been trying to boost its relations with Malaysia, which has sheltered radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik who has been booked on money laundering charges by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India.

Turkey already operates an English news channel TRT World that has been called out on social media for parroting the Pakistani line while ignoring the Indian position.

The move comes in the wider context of changes in the Islamic world with Turkey and Saudi Arabia fighting for the leadership position -- as Saudi Arabia’s clout since the last few decades is being increasingly threatened by Turkey.