Saudi Arabia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on a one-day visit today. As per reports the Saudi minister will hold meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Matters related to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s bilateral ties and regional developments will be discussed and likely Pakistan will brief about the Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir. The agenda of the wide-ranging meeting included a review of bilateral relations and discussions on matters of common concern. The regional situation in South Asia in the wake of India’s illegal annexation of occupied Kashmir was also part of the discussions. Al-Jubeir earlier paid a daylong visit to Islamabad in March as part of Riyadh’s efforts to seek de-escalation in tensions between Pakistan and India. He had met PM Imran, FM Qureshi and army chief General Bajwa to convey an ‘important message’ from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to Pakistan’s civil and military leadership.
Also on Tuesday, PM Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and apprised the royal on the current situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). The contact between Islamabad and Riyadh comes at a time when the lockdown in occupied Kashmir nears a month after India’s illegal and unilateral August 5 move. PM Imran has made contact with MBS multiple times since then and called the Saudi crown prince last week too, after US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. The meeting saw Trump backtracking on his earlier offer to mediate between Pakistan and India on Kashmir.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is also scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday. He will hold meetings with top civil and military leadership of Pakistan.
At a time when Indian authorities are busy in atrocities in occupied Kashmir as they have removed special status of Kashmir, Pakistan is in contact through diplomatic and backdoor channels with a number of Islamic countries as part of its efforts to gain maximum support on the Kashmir crisis and to force the Indian government to lift the curfew and information blockade in the occupied valley.
Pakistan must put its case in front of foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and UAE that in such a time when innocent people of Kashmir are being suppressed, they need support of influential Islamic countries. And to be honest, both Saudi Arabia and UAE have not raise voice in favour of people of Kashmir as they should have. Probably this is the time that major Islamic countries should keep their petty economic interests aside and should at least question the continued barbarism of Indian authorities in held Kashmir.
Probably this is the time that major Islamic countries should keep their petty economic interests aside and should at least question the continued barbarism of Indian authorities in held Kashmir.