Pak-Saudi Fraternal Relations

By: Dr. Muhammad Akram Zaheer
Saudi Arabian top diplomat Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud landed in Islamabad on Tuesday for a day-long visit at the foreign minister of Pakistan Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s invitation. During the meeting, both foreign ministers discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and international issues as well. Both the countries have long-standing and historical cordial relations of common faith, deep-rooted and mutual interests.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep economic and political ties. Although Pakistan considers itself the leader of Muslims in South Asia, it also supports the Saudi leadership. He openly agrees that Saudi Arabia is the leader of the Muslim world and also the custodian of the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia has always provided financial assistance to Pakistan to avoid economic pressure. For example, in 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed on $6 billion aid package to help Pakistan, in which $3 billion was immediately disbursed. Pakistan is heavily dependent on Saudi oil. In return, Pakistan provides manpower to Saudi Arabia. There are more than two million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia which is the second-largest group of immigrants in Saudi Arabia
Since the last two, some mistrust in relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has befallen. The reason for this was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement to attend the Islamic Summit in Malaysia which was taken very seriously by Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to reduce this resentment by canceling his visit to Malaysia. Later, a statement from Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi worsened more the situation. In response, Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to repay a 1 billion loan and did not renew the facility of oil of its $ 3.2 billion as a loan. Nevertheless, Pakistan has not let Saudi Arabia become more frustrating and has been making positive efforts to improve cordial relations between the two countries since the decades-long. Recently, many political and diplomatic changes have taken place at the international and regional levels. Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia have been strained since Biden took office, Biden administration suspending its support for Saudi military action against the Houthis, in addition, Washington desired to incite Houthi militants to join the talks. Then the United States removed the label of terrorist from the Houthi. The USA stopped arms sales to Saudi Arabia as well. This shift in US policy provided an opportunity for Saudi Arabia to review its foreign policy. Now Saudi Arabia is trying to re-establish relations with Pakistan and Turkey. Riyadh also hinted at normalizing relations with Iran. This shows that the attitude of Saudi Arabia has changed. And in the coming days, talks could be held to resolve the Yemen issue. On the other hand, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have had close brotherly relations for decades. The government of Pakistan and the people of Saudi Arabia are linked with Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia is the custodian of Islam because of its religious and sacred sites. Saudi Arabia relies heavily on Pakistan for its sanctuaries and its security. On the other hand, Pakistan has always needed the cooperation of Saudi Arabia to manage its economy. Pakistan also has the potential to play an important role in bringing Saudi Arabia and Iran closer together and Pakistan has expressed this desire many times. Now, with the changing situation of the region and the globe, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have to renew their decades-long good relations and ties, dispel misgivings and build a strong strategic partnership that is essential to the interests of both countries. The present visit of the Saudi foreign minister to Pakistan may strengthen more bilateral relations especially in the field of technology, economy; investment and it will encourage the businessmen from both sides to explore opportunities in the field of investment.