Book on Pak-Saudi relations launched

A book titled ‘Pakistan’s Relations with Saudi Arabia’ by Ambassador (retd) Shahid Amin was launched at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) on Saturday afternoon.

Present on this occasion were Dr Ishrat Husain, former special assistant to prime minister, Javed Jabbar, former senator, Bashir Janmohammad, chancellor of the IoBM, and Talib Karim, president the IoBM.

Karim welcomed the guests and admired their contributions to Pakistan. He shared that the IoBM’s late founder president requested Amin to write a book on this topic for it was prevalent in our regional dynamics.

Janmohammad said Amin had accurately described the diplomatic eras between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia over the last many decades. Ex-senator Jabbar said the book was a distinguished contribution to a limited range of scholarly and research work. He said the book covered a relationship bounded by religion and region, and offered insights to an asymmetrical bond, and ambiguity for the future as far as Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations were concerned vis-à-vis Iran and India.

Dr Husain said there was a dearth of serious scholarship at the national level. He admired the IoBM’s efforts to establish the SSK Centre of Excellence. He advised the universities across Pakistan to establish such centres to focus on the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia to complement or supplement the government’s actions.

Former ambassador Amin said that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s relationship had stood the test of time. He reminisced about his first diplomatic assignment in Saudi Arabia, saying that instead of writing it as a eulogy he wrote the book as a historian with the narrative based on research and objectivity.

Ambassador (retd) Alam Brohi presented the vote of thanks. Dr Amber Raza was the moderator. The book launch was organised by IoBM and the Pakistan Council on Foreign Relations. Ahsan Mukhtar Zubairi, secretary-general and CEO, PCFR, was also present.