Qureshi’s Jeddah meeting fuels speculation
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.
ISLAMABAD:
Amid heightened political temperatures back home, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday held a meeting with Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah fuelling speculation of some major changes in the political landscape of the country.
Foreign Minister Qureshi, who is currently on a visit to Gulf states, strangely did not meet either his Saudi counterpart or King Abdullah. His only engagement was an interaction with the Saudi intelligence chief, who in the past played a key role in brokering political deals in Pakistan.
Prince Muqrin’s role in Pakistan’s politics came to light when he along with Lebanese politician Saad Hariri held an unprecedented press conference in September 2007 at the Army House in Rawalpindi, telling reporters that Nawaz Sharif was bound under the agreement not to return to Pakistan before December 2010.
He also showed a copy of the agreement to the media.
The Foreign Office confirmed the meeting between the foreign minister and the Saudi intelligence chief but tried to downplay its significance.
“The top Saudi leadership was not available because of the holy month of Ramazan and that’s why the minister met with the Saudi intelligence chief,” Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit told The Express Tribune.
The spokesman said the FM’s visit was part of his tour to Gulf states, where he had gone to brief the leadership of oil-rich nations about the scale of devastation caused by the floods.
However, background interviews with leading politicians from the mainstream political parties indicate they are attaching great importance to this meeting.
The development comes as speculation is rife in the political circles that some kind of change in the political setup is in the offing.
Some people are even suggesting that Qureshi may have an important role in the future political setup in case the current dispensation is sent packing.
Interestingly, Qureshi met the Saudi intelligence chief a day after Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani returned from Jeddah, where he held a four-hour long meeting with the Saudi King.
Military sources insist the meeting between the Saudi king and the army chief discussed the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan and the foreign minister’s visit has no linkage to it.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2010.
Amid heightened political temperatures back home, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday held a meeting with Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah fuelling speculation of some major changes in the political landscape of the country.
Foreign Minister Qureshi, who is currently on a visit to Gulf states, strangely did not meet either his Saudi counterpart or King Abdullah. His only engagement was an interaction with the Saudi intelligence chief, who in the past played a key role in brokering political deals in Pakistan.
Prince Muqrin’s role in Pakistan’s politics came to light when he along with Lebanese politician Saad Hariri held an unprecedented press conference in September 2007 at the Army House in Rawalpindi, telling reporters that Nawaz Sharif was bound under the agreement not to return to Pakistan before December 2010.
He also showed a copy of the agreement to the media.
The Foreign Office confirmed the meeting between the foreign minister and the Saudi intelligence chief but tried to downplay its significance.
“The top Saudi leadership was not available because of the holy month of Ramazan and that’s why the minister met with the Saudi intelligence chief,” Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit told The Express Tribune.
The spokesman said the FM’s visit was part of his tour to Gulf states, where he had gone to brief the leadership of oil-rich nations about the scale of devastation caused by the floods.
However, background interviews with leading politicians from the mainstream political parties indicate they are attaching great importance to this meeting.
The development comes as speculation is rife in the political circles that some kind of change in the political setup is in the offing.
Some people are even suggesting that Qureshi may have an important role in the future political setup in case the current dispensation is sent packing.
Interestingly, Qureshi met the Saudi intelligence chief a day after Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani returned from Jeddah, where he held a four-hour long meeting with the Saudi King.
Military sources insist the meeting between the Saudi king and the army chief discussed the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan and the foreign minister’s visit has no linkage to it.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2010.