Nothing official yet, there are indications of a visit, the Crown Prince may come for a few hours, sources. Photo: File
Islamabad: Pakistan is seeking a visit from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is traveling to India later this week to attend the G-20 summit.
The Foreign Office refrained from saying anything about a possible short visit, however, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office did not rule out this possibility and said, “There is nothing official yet, but there are indications that the Saudi Crown Prince may visit Pakistan during his visit to India.”
However, there is no confirmation from either side as it is likely that both sides want to keep the visit under wraps until the last minute, but if the visit materialises, it will be for a few hours. Pakistan wants the Saudi crown prince to visit Islamabad, even for a few hours, but the aim is to avoid possible public backlash.
Many countries, especially the major powers, have kept their relations with Pakistan and India away from their confrontation in recent years, but the Gulf countries continue to maintain a special balance. When the Saudi Crown Prince visited India in February 2019, he also visited Pakistan.
Officials fear public backlash if the Saudi ruler skips his visit to Pakistan while traveling to India. The Saudi crown prince is not only attending the G20 summit on September 9 and 10, but will also pay a one-day official visit to Delhi.
In this situation, it has become even more important that Muhammad bin Sultan should visit Pakistan. Another important aspect, due to which Pakistan is pushing for this visit is because it considers Saudi Arabia as a key player in its economic recovery plan. Pakistan has established a Special Investment Facilitation Council to attract foreign investment, especially from the Gulf countries.
According to the sources, the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince will be helpful in this purpose. In the weekly briefing last Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that no announcement has been made regarding the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to Pakistan. The Saudi Crown Prince had earlier postponed his visit to Pakistan last November.
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