Riyadh didn’t ask for loan payment, says Qureshi

FM says ties with Saudi Arabia as strong as ever

ISLAMABAD:

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday dismissed a campaign on social media, claiming a drift in the Saudi Arabia’s stance on the Kashmir issue and rubbished the “assumptions” that Riyadh had demanded of Islamabad to pay back loans or had stopped the oil supply.

Addressing a press conference, Qureshi said that Pakistan and China would “act collectively to protect mutual strategic interests” and vowed to continue the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects despite criticism.

Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia were as strong as ever, he said, while rubbishing the talk of kingdom demanding payment of debt. “It’s all speculation. No such decision taken,” he said, adding that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had a “heart-to-heart relationship” with a shared goal of peace”.

He said that there was no change in Saudi Arabia’s stance on the Kashmir issue. Asked about the recognition of Israel by the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE), Qureshi said the UAE had the right to take its own decisions. However, he added Pakistan could not be pressured on the issue of Israel.

The foreign minister said that his recent visit to China was very significant against the backdrop of recent India-China military skirmishes in Ladakh. “It was important to have a face-to-face discussion in the emerging scenario,” he said.

“Our [Pakistan and China’s] strategic compass is set in right direction and joint efforts would be made to promote peace, development and prosperity in the region,” Qureshi said. “No matter what, CPEC would continue towards the goal of its complete implementation,” he said.

The foreign minister said that China categorically rejected India’s unilateral action of August 5, 2019. He announced that the Chinese president would visit Pakistan soon. He also said that members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) were now losing interest in India.

Qureshi backed the recent joint declaration by six political parties in Jammu and Kashmir against New Delhi’s unilateral action in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). “This statement… shows that India’s efforts to crush Kashmiris have met a big defeat,” he said.

He stressed the need for monitoring by international watchdogs to expose India’s false claims of normalcy in last one year. “We reject India’s claim of J&K as its internal matter. The truth is that India has no historical, legal and moral claim over it,” he said.

He said that International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent body, termed the struggle of Kashmiris as “indigenous mass resistance” and demanded reversal of the August 5 move. He warned the world that India could carry out a false flag operation to cover up its defeat after misadventure in IIOJK.

Responding to a question, Qureshi said that a Taliban delegation had arrived at the invitation of the Pakistan government. “They have come to Pakistan at our invitation,” he said. “We will meet the Afghan Taliban tomorrow [today],” he said.

“There are some difficulties in the intra-Afghan dialogue but now [the situation is] improving. The Taliban have released a large number of prisoners, while the Afghan government has also released prisoners. China has played a key role in this process,” he said. “Our neighbour in the east does not want improvement in Afghanistan.”

With input from APP