JEDDAH: Days ahead of the prime minister’s visit to the Kingdom, Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Saudi Arabia on an official visit on Tuesday.
During his visit, the army chief will meet the Saudi civil-military leadership and discuss bilateral and security ties with the country.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), also reported that the army chief is expected to talk to Saudi authorities about regional security, bilateral relations and topics of mutual interests.
Previously, Gen Bajwa had visited Saudi Arabia in August after a statement by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Kashmir irked the Saudi leadership. Qureshi had lashed out at Saudis for their failure to convene a special meeting of the OIC foreign ministers for a discussion on the Kashmir dispute. This statement had resulted in the suspension of Saudi loan to Pakistan as well as its refusal to roll over the oil credit facility.
It may be noted here that PM Imran Khan will visit Saudi Arabia on May 7 at the invitation of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. Imran will meet Mohammad Bin Salman during the visit to discuss bilateral cooperation, regional stability and matters of mutual interest. The prime minister will be accompanied by a high level delegation during his visit.
