The visit acquires special significance as it comes days after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi blasted the Saudi-led OIC for not actively supporting it on Kashmir
Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Pakistan’s military chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa traveled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for daylong official meetings amid reports of rare strains in historically close relations between the two key Muslim nations, reports Voice of America.
A brief Pakistani army statement said Bajwa met with Saudi Arabia’s Gen. Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and other top commanders to discuss military ties, including training exchanges. It did not give further details.
The head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Faiz Hameed, is accompanying Gen. Bajwa. His visit was “primarily military-affairs oriented”, Al Jazeera quoted Pakistan’s army spokesman as saying.
There is no report of Gen. Bajwa meeting Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, or any other senior leader in the government.
The visit acquires special significance as it comes days after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi blasted the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for not actively denouncing India’s actions in the disputed Kashmir region.
“If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris,” Qureshi told local media in recent weeks.
Last year, Islamabad had pulled out of a Muslim nations forum at the last minute upon the insistence of Riyadh, which saw the gathering as an attempt to challenge its leadership of the OIC.
Qureshi’s remarks revived Riyadh’s anger.
A traditional ally, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018. The Saudis forced Pakistan to pay back $1bn prematurely and is demanding another $1bn of the loan.
Riyadh has also not responded to Pakistani requests to extend the oil facility, military and finance ministry officials have told Reuters.
Pakistanis account for more than a quarter of the 10 million expatriates working in Saudi Arabia.
