Saudi foreign minister postpones trip at 11th hour

Foreign Office cites no reason, says Jubeir will visit on Jan 7

ISLAMABAD: The visit of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Bin Ahmed al Jubeir to Pakistan was postponed at the last minute on Sunday apparently due to the kingdom’s rising tensions with arch-rival Iran over the execution of a leading Shia cleric over terrorism charges.

Jubeir was scheduled to arrive on Sunday for a two-day visit. However, the trip was put on hold at Saudi Arabia’s request, according to the Foreign Office. “He [the Saudi foreign minister] will now visit Pakistan on January 7,” FO spokesperson Qazi Khalilluah said without citing any reason for the postponement.

Pakistan was informed about the postponement only hours before the Saudi foreign minister was to hold talks with Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday. The two were to address a joint news conference later that evening and invitations had already been sent out to the media.

Diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune that the situation arising out of Saturday’s execution of Saudi cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr was the main reason behind the postponement of Jubeir’s visit.

Angry protesters on Sunday stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran in reaction to the execution and equated Riyadh’s action with Islamic State’s killings in the Middle East. “In this situation, it was not appropriate for the Saudi foreign minister to travel to Islamabad,” said one diplomatic source.

This would have been the first high-level visit from Saudi Arabia since relations between Islamabad and Riyadh were strained by Pakistan’s decision to stay neutral on the Yemen conflict.

Officials said the Saudi foreign minister was coming to discuss the 34-nation alliance of Islamic countries his country has cobbled together against terrorism and extremism. After initial confusion, Pakistan announced its participation in the alliance but said the scope of its participation was yet to be decided.

Sources said the Saudi foreign minister during his visit later this week would share details of the alliance which does not include Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. This has raised concerns that such an alliance could further create divisions within the Islamic countries.

That is why Pakistan is treading a careful path. While it has announced support for the alliance officials privately say Islamabad is unlikely to send its troops to foreign soil. Fresh tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have now further compounded the situation making it even more difficult for Pakistan to take any decisive move on the Saudi-led coalition.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2016.