Nawaz to raise IHK issue with Trump in Riyadh

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will raise the issue of extremism, terrorism and human rights violation in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) with the United States next week in the course of maiden meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump in Saudi capital Riyadh.

The meeting is likely to take place on the fringes of the US-Arab-Islamic World summit that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia while the initiative was made by the US president. Prime Minister Nawaz, who has met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier on Monday, will be meeting US President Donald Trump in Riyadh Tuesday next.

It will create history since no other leader from Pakistan in past couldn’t avail such opportunity in past. Nawaz is in the focus of world powers as Afghanistan will be the subject that the US President would like to take up with him on priority basis. The two had telephonic discussion in December last where both the leaders used gracious sentiments about each other.

Nawaz would be first South Asian leader who will have face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump. He was the first Muslim leader who was invited for the summit by Saudi Arabia that was immediately accepted by him. Highly placed sources told The News here Wednesday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be conspicuous with his absence in the summit who is also Chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the current tenure.

He had meeting with President Trump in Washington other day. It’s expected that Turkish Prime Minister or Foreign Minister will represent Turkey in the summit. Saudi Arabia is expecting turning up of Muslim heads of states and governments in record number in Riyadh for US-Arab-Islamic Summit Conference.

Saudi Arabia has decided not to invite Iran and Syria for the summit while all other 55 Muslim countries have been invited for the historic summit of which formal agenda has yet to be declared by the host. Saudi officials have revealed the planned agenda of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit will include him giving a speech on Islam to Muslim leaders, a business forum and a “tweet-up” meeting with Malala Yousafazai and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey.

Trump is set to visit Riyadh next week and meet with Saudi officials, as well as 56 Arab and Muslim leaders to discuss combating extremism and cracking down on illicit financing under the summit slogan "Together We Prevail". Diplomatic observers are of the view that US President Donald Trump narrative about the Muslim world in his last year’s election campaign was obnoxious but he has opted Saudi Arabia for his first international visit after assuming the office in January last.

It indicates retrospection on the part of Trump administration about the Muslim world and global affairs since he spoke high of the Muslim youth and expressed desire to work closely with the Muslims for elimination of extremism and terrorism form the face of the earth. The United States has lost space in the global politics due to one-sided policies of successive presidents after 9/11 and Washington is scared that Kremlin and Beijing are ganging up to fill the vacuum.

Incidentally India that was becoming chummy with the United States by taking U-Turn in international ties didn’t figure in Beijing and it is unexpected that in Riyadh anyone will refer to it. The sources pointed out that three separate meetings will be arranged in Riyadh in two days. The first will be bilateral meeting between visiting US President and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz while the other will be of Arab Leaders.

Both the meetings will take place on Saturday May 20. The meeting between President Trump and Muslim world leaders will take place on the following day where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other Muslim leaders would also be present. Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz who is also Khadim-e-Hurmain Sharifain would be meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, the sources said. Saudis have officially stated that three separate meetings will take place. The first meeting will focus on Saudi Arabia and United States, second will be a joint Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and United States summit and third will bring together at least 55 member states at the Arab Islamic American summit.

“President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia will be his first stop on his first international tour. The Kingdom believes that this will be a historic visit not only because of the unprecedented number of summits taking place – bilateral, the GCC, and Islamic – but because it will show to the world that the United States and Arab-Muslim countries can form a deep and enduring partnership,” a statement said. The sources revealed that President Trump will conclude a deal with Saudi Arabia for the sale of US one hundred billion $ sale of most sophisticated war machinery to the Kingdom. An agreement could be inked in this regard in the presence of the US President in Saudi capital. President Trump will reach the day in Saudi Arabia when the results for Presidential polls in Iran would be announced. The election for new Iran’s President will be held on Friday in Iran.