Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister arrived in Pakistan on Thursday, where he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is keen to use the two-day visit to defuse spiralling sectarian tension between the Sunni-majority kingdom and Shi’ite Iran.
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Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir also briefed the prime minister on the recent situation in the Kingdom’s relations with Iran.
The two also discussed other issues affecting the world and promoting bilateral relations. Tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia would come up there for discussion.
“The prime minister affirmed that the people of Pakistan will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Saudi Arabia against any threat to territorial integrity and sovereignty of Saudi Arabia”, said the statement.
Iran says Saudi Arabia’s severance of ties with the Islamic Republic is part of Riyadh’s attempts to divert attention from its domestic problems and also the Nimr execution consequences. Earlier in December, Riyadh announced the formation of the 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, naming Pakistan among the coalition members without first getting its consent.
However, Pakistani leadership in talks with Adel Bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir refrained from committing Pakistan’s any proactive role in Saudi-led alliance and reemphasized Islamabad’s stance that its participation in alliance is of “voluntary nature”.
Aziz said that national interest would be given priority in context of the diplomatic row in Middle East and called for a peaceful resolution to the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, reports the Dawn.
“We are at a very crucial stage of our battle against terrorism”, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former Pakistan foreign minister who is now a deputy leader of a key opposition party, said by phone.
China has sent an envoy to Saudi Arabia and Iran amid an escalating feud, the foreign ministry said on Thursday (Jan 7), calling on all sides to exercise restraint.
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“The Pakistani endeavor will be to explain to our Saudi brothers that we are grateful for all you’ve been doing for Pakistan”, said Abdul Qayyum, a lawmaker with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N and a retired general.
