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Saudi Arabia had provided $1.5 billion to shore up Pakistan’s fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves.

Islamabad has been fending off a firestorm of media speculation about a ‘volte-face’ in its Syria policy ever since Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud wrapped up his visit to Pakistan last month. Providing fodder for this widely embraced assumption was a declaration jointly issued by the two sides that called for the ‘formation of a transitional governing body’ in Damascus. About the same time, the media also splashed reports that the Saudi kingdom was in talks with Pakistan to provide weapons to Syrian rebels. As if all this was not enough to give credence to the theory that a major policy reversal vis-a-vis Syria had been brought about, we were told in a hush-hush way that a ‘friendly Muslim country’ had provided cash largesse of $1.5 billion to shore up Pakistan’s fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves. That friendly country was later revealed to be no other but Saudi Arabia.



Naturally, the analysts were left to marvel at this sudden royal benevolence and groped for answers. The inference again was that Islamabad was, perhaps, moving away from its long-pursued policy of non-interference in Syria to one favoured by Riyadh, and that the cash represented a reward for this about-turn. To repudiate this perception, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz took time out to tell a parliamentary panel on March 17 that there were no strings attached to the money gifted by the Saudis. He reiterated that Pakistan’s policy on the Syrian conflict stood unchanged, that Pakistan-made arms will not be used in any conflict and that Islamabad supports international efforts to find a peaceful Syria-led and inclusive solution being pursued under the Geneva peace process. His assurance, by and large, appeared to satisfy the concerns of opposition parties, especially the statement that the Saudi gift is not in exchange for any direct meddling by Pakistan in Syria. We welcome this position. However, until a fuller explanation is made, we cannot but be mystified by the question as to why Riyadh will just give away a staggering sum to Islamabad without demanding anything in return. This is something that needs more clarification, if the government wants to put at rest the conspiracy theories surrounding the cash handout.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2014.

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