Saudi Shura Council chief pledges support on Kashmir

Ag agencies

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabian Shura Council Chairman Dr Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al Sheikh said in separate meetings with President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan that efforts were being made to further enhance parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support to Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. President Dr Arif Alvi said 126-day-long curfew and total media blackout in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) at the hands of fascist BJP government of India was a blatant violation of fundamental rights of the people of Kashmir.

The Saudi parliamentary delegation called on President Dr Arif Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Friday. President Alvi commended that Saudi Arabia has always played a proactive role in the challenges faced by Muslim Ummah and urged to expose the conspiracy being hatched against Muslim citizens through Indian Citizenship Act.

The president said that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and both countries had a shared faith commonality of culture traditions values and heritage as well as common position on regional and international issues. He also appreciated the progress and development of the Kingdom under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the vision of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

He underscored that the earlier visit of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman that had left a deep imprint on the hearts and minds of Pakistani people. The president also expressed his satisfaction at ongoing economic and investment cooperation negotiations on Saudi investment in oil refinery and mineral sectors. Moreover he commended the expected flow of Saudi investments in Pakistan (US 20 billion) following signing of MoUs in the fields of refinery mining and renewable energy in the first phase and hope it would invest more in the various sectors of the economy in future.

He said that we took pride in our 2.3 million law-abiding Pakistani diaspora in the KSA that had contributed to the socio economic development of the Kingdom. He added that our community considered Saudi Arabia as their second home and worked devotedly for the progress and prosperity of the Kingdom.

Also, Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sheikh called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Friday. The Saudi and Pakistani delegations discussed the bilateral relations and other important issues. Speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaiser was also present during the meeting.