Pakistan’s army chief is visiting Saudi Arabia on Sunday amid a rare diplomatic row between the two traditional allies over their policy on Kashmir.
A military spokesperson said on Thursday that the visit of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, considered to be one of the most influential figures in Pakistan, was “military-affairs orientated,” but it is seen by many as an attempt at damage control.
Pakistani authorities did not confirm how long he would spend in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi showed Islamabad’s frustration with a lack of backing from Riyadh to oppose Indian moves on Kashmir.
He had told a local TV channel that Pakistan would hold “a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir” if the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) refused to hold such a meeting.
Pakistan has been pushing for a meeting of OIC foreign ministers since India annexed occupied India-administered Kashmir last August.
The spat between the longtime allies is putting pressure on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government after the kingdom reduced its financial support for the country. Saudi Arabia remains one of the main sources of Pakistan’s remittances.
Riyadh has frozen a 3.2-billion-dollar oil credit facility while Islamabad paid back one billion dollars to the kingdom. The Saudi loan was originally due to be repaid later this year.
Pakistan and India control only parts of Kashmir, but each has laid claim to the entire region and fought two of the three wars over it, since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.
SOURCE
GNA
