The Saudi Arabia ended loan and oil supply to Pakistan.
With this, the decades long friendship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia ended.
Recently the Pakistan Government also paid back an amount of USD 1 billion to Saudi Arabia.
The amount was a part of a $6.2 billion package announced by Saudi Arabia in November 2018.
However, the Suadi Arabia Government took back the money which included a total of $3 billions in loans and an oil credit facility worth $3.2 billions.
The development came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had given a blunt warning to Saudi Arabia-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for not taking a stance against India over the Kashmir issue.
Mehmood Qureshi, the External Affairs Minister of Pakistan said, “If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris.”
He also said, “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation,” he further stated, “As Pakistan pulled out of the Kuala Lumpur summit after Saudi Arabia’s “request”, it now expects Riyadh to “show leadership on this issue.”
Since India revoked Article 370 and took away special status from Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad is trying to push for the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC.)
The reason to do so was to gain confidence from other Islamic countries to raise voice in Kashmir matter.
After Pakistan failed to gather support from the OIC members on Kashmir issue on the 22nd of May, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We cannot even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir.”
Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Thilmeeza Hussain, said that alleging Islamophobia in the context of India would be factually incorrect.She further added, “It would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region. Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2 per cent of the country’s population.”
Stay tuned for further updates.
