The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia's state minister for foreign affairs arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on a one-day official visit to hold talks with the Pakistani civil and military leadership on the regional situation.
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan were received by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Both ministers are expected to hold meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The visits come at a time when tensions between Pakistan and India are high following New Delhi's decision to strip occupied Kashmir of its special status. Pakistan has been making diplomatic efforts to direct the world's attention towards the Kashmir issue by reaching out to international bodies and allies.
They are visiting Pakistan as a result of direct telephone calls by Prime Minister Imran Khan to the crown princes of the two countries in the past few days. In a conversation with reporters yesterday, Qureshi said the prime minister had “good interaction” with the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“We contacted the two foreign ministers and they are coming,” the foreign minister added and further said that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE were important countries. He said that he would present before them the viewpoint of Pakistan and of the people of Kashmir on the latest Indian move of repealing Article 370 and the situation in the held valley due to continued curfew.
Tags:
Diplomacy