Two visits

The purpose of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s dash to Riyadh on Thursday, accompanied by a high level team which included Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, appears to be intended to repair ties with the Kingdom after tensions erupted over the Yemen issue. The visit came as Saudi Arabia announced a ceasefire in airstrikes on Yemen following international pressure on a humanitarian basis. Pakistan had of course not joined the raids in Yemen following a resolution passed by its parliament – a decision that brought open wrath from the UAE and more subtle murmurings of disquiet in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s stance that it wished to seek a negotiated settlement in Yemen now ties in with the new view expressed by Riyadh. This made the visit an important one. Sharif met King Salman on Thursday, along with his delegation and renewed the promise of full support to a key ally in all circumstances. The prime minister also stated on a visit to London on Friday that the trip to Saudi Arabia had gone well and that no ‘wish list’ had ever been put forward by the Saudis in the first place. There has been over the past few weeks much talk of a wish list and pressure on Pakistan to meet it.
With this visit going well, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia seem to be resuming a normal line of close friendship. The Imam of the Holy Kaaba, Dr Sheikh Khalid al-Ghamdi, during his visit here has stressed, as he has done before, that there is no place for violence in Islam and that those who use religion to further this end are doing it a disservice. In the context of Pakistan, this is a hugely important message. The fact that it comes from the top cleric for most Muslims is significant. While Pakistan seems set to resume a relationship with Riyadh that had for a short time appeared to be in trouble, Riyadh is apparently doing its own bid by delivering key messages which could help bring about the kind of peace that is Pakistan’s most important need. Indeed, right now, peace is the target both nations need to work towards, both in the context of Yemen and as far as Pakistan goes with its continuing struggle against militancy and terrorism of all kinds. The partnership for this must continue.