19 Dec 2020
#Pakistan 🇵🇰 had returned $ 1 billion to the Kingdom of #SaudiArabia 🇸🇦 as a second installment of a $ 3 billion loan As the government in Islamabad is currently trying to obtain a loan from #China 🇨🇳 to provide the last billion for its repayment to Riyadh in January in light of the strained relations between Riyadh and Islamabad Islamabad will face a balance of payments problem in January with the central bank's low foreign monetary reserve, which amounts to only $ 13.3 billion As it is not usual for the Kingdom to press for the return of its dues, especially from friendly and allied Islamic countries, but the relationship between the two friends has recently become tense,
The first billion was sent on the first of last July. Saudi Arabia had granted Pakistan a loan of three billion dollars and an oil credit facility of 3.2 billion dollars in late 2018 And after Islamabad requested Riyadh's support regarding alleged human rights violations by #India 🇮🇳 in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, Riyadh’s response was lackluster. Indeed, the Kingdom demanded Islamabad to return the loan offered to it in 2018, but Islamabad did not receive shipments. Oil agreed since last May Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of oil to Pakistan and it is also one of the main markets for Pakistani products,
The commander of the Pakistani army #Qamar_Javed_Bajwa (who visited Riyadh last August) met with the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad #Nawaf_bin_Saeed_AlMaliki on Tuesday to ease tension The tension in the relationship between the two countries recently comes within a series of unilateral decisions taken by Riyadh regarding Islamabad that included the deportation of Pakistani workers in the past two years. But what's the story?!,
The dispute began five years ago, specifically in April of 2015, when the Pakistani parliament voted in favor of a resolution requiring non-military intervention in #Yemen 🇾🇪 within the framework of Operation Decisive Storm, led by Saudi Arabia against the Houthi militia and that is after Riyadh asked Islamabad to contribute to the war with ships, planes and soldiers, not because the kingdom is unable, but Riyadh wanted to mobilize the largest possible number against Iran's tool in Yemen, the Houthis,
The kingdom wants Pakistan to abandon its neutral approach to issues that challenge the kingdom's foreign policy Riyadh was not satisfied with the Pakistani parliament’s decision not to participate in the Yemen war. Pakistan has maintained neutrality with regard to the Gulf crisis, and it also wants to maintain its neutral stance on Iran's nuclear program Islamabad, under the leadership of Imran Khan and General Qamar Javed Bajoh, followed a soft policy towards Tehran that went so far as the Pakistani army chief visited Iran and provided assurances to the mullahs' regime,
The change of power in Pakistan, the withdrawal of the kingdom's allies, and the assumption of power by people who do not have strong relations similar to those between Pervez Musharraf and Riyadh but the reason for the tension is that Prince Muhammad bin Salman did not follow the same old way in which the kings of the Kingdom used to deal with Pakistan, where the new leadership is undergoing a transformation that Islamabad needs to accept for the sake of a longer partnership for decades Saudi Arabia, with its unconventional leadership, cannot adhere to the foreign policy of its old school,
The Pakistani army chief visited Bajwa in an attempt to ease a dispute between the two countries over policies related to the disputed Kashmir region Imran tried to restructure the areas of cooperation on new foundations, where he pledged that his working forces would remain in the Kingdom for internal protection only without external interference or participation in the Yemen operation, but Riyadh tried to develop this military presence to include the deployment of advanced air defense systems and a missile cover directed to the Houthis first or Iran in the future. This request was against the interest of Islamabad, whose economic relations with Iran have been growing since 2015 in various fields, the most important of which is energy, although the Kingdom has not historically failed to support Pakistan,
The Qatari policy is behind the tense relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, after it failed to divide the Arab countries, Doha resorts to the use of Islamic countries and lures them with money. Therefore, the Kingdom and the Gulf countries, which have strong relations with Pakistan, felt the hidden alliance between Pakistan and Qatari money, and that is why Saudi Arabia resorted to requesting a refund of its financial dues from Pakistan,
The Islamic Summit of Kuala Lumpur, hosted by # Malaysia with Turkish Qatari sponsorship in 2019 and boycotted by the Kingdom and most Islamic countries, was an attempt to strike the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is based in the Saudi city of Jeddah, and after this conference also failed, it resorted to Pakistan to harass Riyadh in indirect ways, the Kingdom and the #UAE 🇦🇪 considered the summit an attempt to establish a new order in the Islamic world,
But Islamabad requested Riyadh's support (based on its religious standing) in the Kashmir issue, but Saudi Arabia did not provide anything. Pakistan has expressed its frustration with the position of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which for decades had been the collective voice of the Islamic world on the issue, especially after the Indian government's decision to cancel Article 370 of The constitution grants the disputed territory of #Jammu & #Kashmir a special status The organization, in turn, renewed its call for a settlement of the conflict in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions. The Saudi Foreign Ministry also issued a statement urging (the two parties to the conflict) in Kashmir to maintain peace and reach a peaceful settlement in accordance with international resolutions,
The Pakistani Foreign Minister #Aziz_Chaudhry launched an attack on the organization. Pakistan considered that the organization does not care about the crisis and criticized its permanent postponement of holding a meeting of foreign ministers of the member states, adding (If the OIC fails to hold that meeting, we will hold a meeting outside the framework of the organization) A month before this attack, Islamabad had repaid a billion dollars, before it was due but the final nail in the coffin of the tense Saudi-Pakistani relations was knocked when Pakistan threatened to establish an alternative body to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in light of Saudi Arabia's refusal to condemn India's abolition of Article 370,
It is believed that Saudi Arabia’s request to repay the soft loan (a sign of its dissatisfaction with Pakistan) Islamabad was waiting for a Saudi position clearly supportive of the Kashmir issue, but Pakistan’s (inconsistent) approach to Kashmir did not occur to Muslim countries as well and Pakistani foreign policy faces challenges on several fronts, but the biggest failure of Pakistan is Imran Khan’s approach in the Middle East. Relations between Pakistan, the Kingdom, and the Gulf in general have retreated, which caused damage to Pakistan only,
The Kingdom's pledge to invest $ 10 billion in a city on the Arabian Sea has diminished due to (Khan's ill attempt to build a rival bloc of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation with #Turkey 🇹🇷 and #Iran 🇮🇷 and #Malaysia 🇲🇾, which are countries that do not constitute a strategic value to Pakistan, especially since their leaders are hostile to Prince Muhammad bin Salman Imran Khan wanted to exploit his relationship with Saudi Arabia and harm its relations with India in exchange for achieving personal and party interests, but Riyadh realized this and did not condemn the alleged violations in Kashmir,
Saudi Arabia’s position on the Kashmir issue is balanced and Imran Khan’s dreams of being a national hero at the expense of Riyadh has made the latter avoid interfering. The (historical and major) relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will be temporary and will disappear with Khan’s exit from power. Imran Khan must realize the changing political dynamics in Arab countries and that politics Foreign affairs for Arabs do not rely on the religious lens only, and they must understand the sensitivities of Arab countries and deal with them,
It is not unusual for Riyadh to request a return of the loan from Pakistan. Nevertheless, it should not be surprising in light of the actions taken by Khan, as it all started when Khan went too far in praising Recep Tayyip Erdoğan which did not harmonize with the Saudis and Emiratis, as well as when he wrote a tweet through which he thanked Ayatollah Ali #Khamenei for his support to Pakistan, despite the fact that the historical Saudi support for Pakistan is not comparable to the Iranian support!!!,
Khan also praised the Turkish series Artgrel and suggested that all Pakistanis watch it on (the Pakistani government broadcasting service) for free, although Pakistan is buying it with money from Ankara, which greatly increased Turkish (soft power) in Pakistan. This is in contrast to what New Delhi does with Riyadh, Khan’s position. From Saudi Arabia is not influential in changing the structure of relations between the two countries,
These developments come after the historic visit of the Indian army chief #Manoj_Mukund_Naravane to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE early last December, days after the Indian decision to cancel the special status of Kashmir, and Saudi Aramco Oil Company signed an agreement with India worth 15 billion dollars, which angered Pakistan.
