Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa is on a visit to Saudi Arabia. On Monday, his request for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was declined

Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa is on a visit to Saudi Arabia in a bid to straighten out diplomatic relations between the two countries, strained since early this year. On Monday however, Bajwa’s request for a meeting with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was declined. Instead, Bajwa met Saudi Vice Minister of Defence Khalid bin Salman, and was received by the Saudi Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Fayyad bin Hammad Al-Ruwaili.

Saudi-Pakistan Relations 

Bajwa was sent to Riyadh after the latter insisted on early repayment of a $3 billion loan, reports suggest. Earlier in August, Pakistan repaid a $1 billion loan to Saudi Arabia with China’s help.

The two countries are long-time allies. In 2019, Saudi Arabia pledged investment deals worth over $20 billion with Pakistan, including a $10 billion investment in Gwadar, to boost its economy. Before that, in November 2018, Saudi Arabia had announced a loan package worth over $6 billion as Pakistan was staring at a financial crisis with dwindling foreign reserves and a widening trade deficit.

What Is The Reason For Strained Saudi-Pakistan Relations?

The dispute between the countries arose in February when Saudi Arabia rejected Pakistan’s request to convene a special meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to gain Muslim countries’ support on the Kashmir issue. OIC members include Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, UAE, Bangladesh, Turkey and Afghanistan, among others, and are largely led by Saudi Arabia and therefore its support is important.

Pakistan has been insisting on such a meeting since the abrogation of Article 370 by India that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status on August 5 last year.

Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently repeated the demand, when in a talk show interview, he said, “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris.”