ISLAMABAD: Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Friday offeredPakistan cooperation in combating corruption to avert losses to nationaleconomy and also called for extending its scope to other Muslim countries.

Addressing a joint press stake-out along with Prime Minister Imran Khan atthe PM House, the Malaysian Prime Minister said Malaysia was much concernedabout the negative impact of corruption and believed that it hampered thesocio-economic development of masses.

Dr Mahathir said money stolen by public office bearers, must be extractedand diverted towards the development budget with an objective of theiruplift.

He seconded the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan that corruptionaffected a country by making its people poor.

“We can exchange information with each other to combat corruption and sharea mechanism with other Muslim states so as to help them ensuredevelopment,” Mahathir said, who earlier presented a book to Prime MinisterImran Khan on the subject of fighting corruption.

Imran Khan said Dr Mahathir as a statesman was a role model for the Muslimworld who brought about improvement in the living standard of hiscountrymen, adding that his comeback in politics was a remarkable stepstowards ending corruption.

He said Pakistanis admired Dr Mahathir for taking bold stance on issuesconfronting Muslims across the world and stressed his vibrant role incurrent scenario particularly addressing the challenges of Islamophobia.