Saudi to step in for better India-Pakistan ties

ISLAMABAD: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Sunday said that Riyadh would work to encourage reduction in tension between Pakistan and India.
The Saudi FM’s remarks came amid Pakistan PM Imran Khan's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia in an effort to reset relations following tensions between the long-time allies over a number of issues in recent years.
"On the Pakistan-India relationship, I really want to commend what has been achieved recently of a calming of tensions and a ceasefire. This is an excellent step in the right direction," the Saudi FM said during an interview aired live on state-run Pakistan TV and radio.
"We will work to encourage the process and make sure that the tensions continue to be reduced between the two nations," Prince Faisal said.
Against the backdrop of growing closeness between Riyadh and Delhi, the FM hoped that his country can help everybody work towards reduction of tensions.
"From our perspective," the minister said, "the focus on building prosperity for the people of one’s nation should be the key emphasis of all policies."
Relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had suffered several setbacks in recent years. Last year, Pakistan had accused the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 57 Muslim-majority countries led by Saudi Arabia, of inaction over New Delhi’s decision to strip Indian-administered Kashmir of its special status in August 2019.
With Kashmir being a key policy issue for Pakistan, the country's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had threatened to hold a rival meeting that would bypass the OIC – a move perceived as a challenge to Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the Muslim world.
Riyadh, however, responded by withdrawing $1bn of a $3bn interest-free loan that it had extended to Pakistan in 2018, at a time when Islamabad was suffering dire economic conditions.
Prior to that, tensions were high over Pakistan’s refusal to send its troops to fight in the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen in 2015.