‘Saudi defence at par with our own’

ISLAMABAD: Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has assured the Saudi ambassador that Pakistan Army holds defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) at a par with the defence of Pakistan.

“The Pakistan Army holds defence of the KSA at par with its own,” General Qamar told Saudi Envoy to Pakistan Abdullah Marzouk Al-Zahrani, who met the army chief at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Friday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Ambassador of KSA met #COAS at GHQ today. COAS reassured the Ambassador that Pakistan Army holds the defence of KSA at par with its own. pic.twitter.com/alZFzCPCK9

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) January 20, 2017

The brief statement issued after the meeting by the military’s media wing said, “Issues of bilateral relations including defence and training cooperation remained focus of the discussion.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a longstanding relationship particularly in the field of defence. However, their ties saw an unprecedented hiccup last year when parliament refused to allow Pakistani troops to join the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen against the Houthi rebels.



After assuming charge as the army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa also took his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2017.