RIYADH: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz along with a delegation called on Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on Wednesday and discussed with him matters of bilateral interest. The Pakistani delegation also includes Secretary Foreign Affairs Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia Manzoorul Haq, Pakistani Counsel General in Jeddah Aftab Ahmed Khokhar and Defence Attaché Brigadier Tahir Gulzar Malik. During the meeting, issues pertaining to the existing relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, steps to further promote the mutual ties and matters pertaining to sending of Pakistani troops to Yemen on the request of Saudi Arabia in the wake of the security crisis there were discussed in detail. The Pakistani delegation assured the Saudi foreign minister that Pakistan will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Saudi Arabia at every critical occasion and will defend it whenever there was a threat to its sovereignty. The delegation briefed the meeting on the joint resolution of parliament and the policy statement of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Saudi minister was told that the joint resolution was misread leading to some misunderstandings, which needed to end now. It said that Saudi Arabia is a time-tested friend of Pakistan, which has always stood by it in critical times and Pakistan will also stand by it in the time of need. The Pakistani nation has high respect for the people and the government of Saudi Arabia, it added. Saud Al-Faisal told the Pakistani delegation that the Saudi government, along with its allies, had crushed the Houthi rebels and now it was engaged in air strikes against the rebellion and the UN had also imposed a ban on them. He said that Pakistan should become a part of the Gulf Cooperation Coalition (GCC). Earlier, the high-level Pakistani delegation led by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday left the country on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia for consultations with senior Saudi officials and later reached Jeddah.
