PM, COAS will undertake visit to China and Saudi Arabia in second week of June

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will undertake visits of China and Saudi Arabia in the second week of June. They will also visit important Gulf countries during the month. Well-placed sources told the News/Jang here Friday that the slated visit would be part of the civil and military leadership joint bilateral talks and paying of gratitude for the supporting role of their host countries during the recent Indian aggression against Pakistan. The visits will take place separately and for the same schedules are being worked out through diplomatic channels. Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and some important federal ministers will also company the Prime Minister in the significant visits, the sources said. The China visit will be highly significant since Beijing has played tremendous role in thwarting the aggression by providing all sort of assistance. The Prime Minister who has just returned from Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, wanted to visit China, Saudi Arabia and Gulf States in same go but slot wasn’t available in Beijing as the Prime Minister had to meet the top leadership of China while Saudi administration was hectically engaged in Hajj arrangements, that made difficult for undertaking the trip. China was the first country where the top leadership from Pakistan visit immediate after second week of May showdown between Pakistan and India as Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar dashed to Beijing where he had extensive meeting with his counterpart in China. Incidentally Afghan Foreign Minister Mullan Muttaqi also had talks with the two in Beijing during those days, the sources reminded. In Gulf, Prime Minister’s other destinations would be United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, the sources hinted.