Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal in Pakistan for day-long visit

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud landed in Islamabad today for a day-long visit at the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s invitation.
Prince Faisal was received by the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tahir Ashrafi at the Nur Khan Air Base.
The Foreign Office said that Prince Faisal is leading a delegation comprising senior officials of the Saudi government.
On Tuesday, the Saudi foreign minister landed in Islamabad heading a delegation to meet his Pakistani counterpart, while later the Saudi side also met the prime minister and the army chief. The high-level visit indicates that despite the irritants, bilateral ties are on track.
While officially the visit took place to discuss economic and regional issues, it is difficult to say what specifics were discussed behind closed doors. It seemed the visit was designed to normalise ties, while the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan may also have come under discussion. After all, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were key members of the US-led grouping that fought the Soviets during the Afghan ‘jihad’, while Riyadh and Islamabad, along with Abu Dhabi, were the only three capitals that recognised the Taliban government after its takeover of Kabul in 1996. Therefore, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are likely keeping an eye on the Afghan theatre in order to evolve a common strategy.
The fact is that both sides, as well as other Muslim states, should develop consensus on key issues affecting the Muslim world, especially Palestine and Kashmir. In fact, it was Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s outburst last year criticising the Saudi-led OIC over its inaction on Kashmir that caused ties to nosedive. It took visits by the prime minister and army chief to Riyadh to help smoothen matters. In his recent visit Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan mentioned the need to “work [together] on regional issues, whether it’s Kashmir, Palestine or Yemen”.
Pakistan must keep up its diplomatic efforts to maintain cordial ties will all states, specifically within the Muslim bloc, as well as the region. While Saudi Arabia is a traditional partner, Iran is a neighbour and shares cultural and historical links with Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan must work to build bridges between Riyadh and Tehran to the best of its ability. Saudi Arabia can also play a major role by raising a voice against atrocities meted out to the people of occupied Kashmir, considering its standing in the Muslim worldPakistan hopes that the visit will provide a timely opportunity to both countries to review the progress in bilateral cooperation.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing and historic fraternal relations, rooted deep in common faith, shared history and mutual support. The relationship is marked by close cooperation in all fields and mutual collaboration on regional and international issues,” the FO said.
The FO hopes that Prince Faisal’s visit will reinforce the positive momentum in high-level exchanges and the deepening of bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.