Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees his visit to Pakistan as a balancing act given the South Asian nation is run by an interim government.
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| Streets in Islamabad during Pakistan's welcoming of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, February 2019. (Source: Twitter) |
" Reason unknown"
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to make a brief visit to Pakistan on September 10 before heading to India for the G20 Summit.
However, the visit was postponed due to "unspecified reasons", according to information on IndiaTV and Times of India newspaper on September 1.
The Times of India newspaper also quoted a short statement from Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch saying that the visit was rescheduled and the two sides would jointly decide on the timing.
According to multiple reports on Pakistani websites and news channels on August 30, the future king of the desert kingdom is expected to stay in Islamabad for “six hours” to discuss a “wide range” of issues including defense and investment.
Sources said the Saudi Crown Prince is likely to meet caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.
“The discussions between the two countries will focus on boosting Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations, defence cooperation and joint military exercises,” Geo News quoted defence sources as saying.
However, according to IndiaTV , the visit, if it takes place, will be "meaningless" in the context that the South Asian country is currently under the leadership of a caretaker government and the caretaker Prime Minister cannot make important decisions until the new government takes power.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees the visit as a “balancing act” as the Gulf state invests heavily in Islamabad. Saudi Arabia has provided Pakistan with billions of dollars in aid in recent years.
He had planned to visit Islamabad last November but the visit was later postponed.
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| Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to attend the G20 Summit and pay a state visit to India next month. (Source: AFP) |
History repeats itself?
If the visit goes ahead as planned, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will “repeat history” by visiting both Pakistan and India on the same trip.
In February 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made headlines when he visited Pakistan under Prime Minister Imran Khan two days before heading to India (and then China). The visit came amid rising tensions between the two South Asian neighbors following a suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14 that killed more than 40 Indian police officers.
Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. New Delhi accused Islamabad of involvement in the attack and criticized Islamabad for not doing enough to stop militant groups operating on Pakistani soil, including JeM.
Meanwhile, Pakistan declared that it was not involved in cross-border terrorism and affirmed its readiness to cooperate with India in investigating the terrorist attack.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's tour of two South Asian countries and China took place five months after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul (Türkiye), leading to a diplomatic crisis, especially between Saudi Arabia and its Western partners.
According to experts, the Asian tour of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then the First Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, was an opportunity to show the West that he still had many friends in the emerging Asian region. Riyadh wanted to find compensation for the US and Europe considering arms embargoes and sanctions against the kingdom.
India has not yet officially commented on the Saudi Arabian guest's visit schedule.
According to IndiaTV, New Delhi has expressed dissatisfaction whenever any foreign minister visits these two neighboring countries in South Asia at the same time.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to visit India on September 11, after attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi. The event is expected to be attended by many world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio…
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