Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has reportedly refused to meet the Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa and Inter-Services Chief General Faiz Hameed, causing the two chiefs to return home with disappointment.
According to the details, Bajwa requested a meeting with the Saudi crown prince to reportedly dispel the ‘misunderstanding’ between Saudia Arabia and Pakistan, which was snubbed. Instead, Bajwa had to settle the meeting with Khalid Bin Salman, the prince’s younger brother and Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister, and General Fayad Al Ruwailli, the kingdom’s chief of general staff. The army chief reportedly intended to repair the relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia by apologizing to the crown prince over the critical comments of Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Qureshi lambasted Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Countries to convene a meeting of the foreign ministers to gather support for Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, saying that if IOC fails to convene the meeting, he will request the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to call it. “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 later called press conferences in Islamabad, reportedly to clarify his statement, but then cancelled them. Soon afterwards, the Pakistani army chief announced his visit to Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has been reportedly calling Saudi Arabia to convene a meeting of OIC to gain Muslim world’s support over the Kashmir issue with India. In February, Pakistan requested a meeting, but it was denied. Many argue that, that was the moment the relations between Islamabad and Riyadh began to sour. Some even suggest that Saudi Arabia had demanded the repayment of a $3bn loan from Pakistan, prompting the Army chief’s visit to placate the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has been supporting Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir for the past couple of decades, but the kingdom has been reluctant in issuing any statement regarding the Indian abrogation of article 370 in 2019. In a symbolic visit to Pakistan in 2019 to show support with Pakistan over Kashmir issue, the UAE and Saudi foreign ministers did not strongly condemn the abrogation of article 370. Experts surmise that Riyadh’s reluctant can be attributed to its gargantuan trade ties with India. Some say that the because the royal family – the house of Saud – has been ruling Saudi Arabia for decades with an iron fist, the kingdom’s condemnation of the revocation of article 370 is outright hypocritical, which is why Riyadh has been brushing the requests from Pakistan under the carpet.