Saudi Arabia's Shocking Snub From Pakistan Is a Bonanza for China and Turkey

[xyx007]

who told you that we are free? our foreign policy is at the mercy of IMF and arabs. we are right in the trap and we dont have option. when the arabs recognize israel and they will put pressure on pakistan along with IMF we will have to change our stance. at the moment our leaders think that what will be the consequences of accpeting israel? what will be the response of mullahs and madrasahs? there wont be many protests. our madrasshas and mullahs are controlled by the arabs. our so called religious leaders will get their set of instructions by their masters and they will be rewarded in return of their silence. when pak refused to send forces to yemen imam e kaaba didnt come to pak just for a sermon in faisal mosque. and forget kashmir. we have fought wars in the past and failed to change the map . it is even more difficult now. UN and OIC are not going to do anything.

if you think our foriegn policy is not free then SMQ seemed hellbent on demolishing one of the pillars of his country’s foreign policy when he openly threatened Saudi Arabia to either lead the Muslim ummah and OIC against India’s constitutional reforms in Jammu and Kashmir, or else he would be left with no choice but to advise his prime minister, who has proclaimed himself as the ‘Ambassador of Kashmir’, that Pakistan must move forward and call a session of all those Islamic countries that are ready to stand with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, “with or without” the Saudis.Qureshi is no green horn like many other members of Imran Khan’s cabinet. As a seasoned politician, he isn’t given to making emotional outbursts, unless of course it is with a purpose.
Qureshi couldn’t have been behaving the loose cannon without someone really powerful – in Pakistan this only means the military – giving him the nod. There are two or three possible explanations.

The first explanation is that this was a trial balloon. We have been trying hard for an year to get the OIC to play a more pro-active role on Kashmir. But the Saudis, along with the UAE and a few other important Arab countries, haven’t shown much interest. They have fobbed off the us by getting the OIC Contact Group to issue meaningless statements. While the Saudi’s are a member of this 5 nation group, the other members are Pakistan, Turkey, Niger and Azerbaijan. Needless to say, apart from the Saudis, and to an extent Turkey, all the other countries are quite inconsequential even in the Islamic bloc. The Saudis however have not allowed any mention of Kashmir in the Mecca Declaration of OIC, nor have they allowed an extraordinary session of OIC foreign ministers on Kashmir in Pakistan, something We have been pitching for rather desperately. Worse, the OIC invited the Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj as a guest of honour in UAE – the Pakistanis boycotted that session – in early 2019 after the Balakot attack. The Saudis, Bahrain and UAE have honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their highest award – the last two countries did this after the constitutional reforms in Jammu and Kashmir last August. The Pakistanis were cut to the bone but continued to try for the foreign ministers meeting. It is now believed that through Qureshi, they have tried to rattle the cage. Issuing an ultimatum to the Saudis is a gamble. If it works, and the Saudis are pressured into doing Pakistan’s bidding, the Pakistanis can crow about their diplomatic success; if the Saudis react strongly, the Pakistanis can go on their knees and apologise profusely and blame it all on Qureshi, whom the Saudis don’t like much anyway because they see him as someone who earns his wealth from a grave – the shrine whose custodian he is.

The second possible explanation is that Qureshi was signalling the beginning of a shift of strategy in Pakistan’s playbook in the Islamic world. Most Pakistanis disparage the OIC as “Oh I see” or "Organization of Isreali/India Cooperation", an organisation that really delivers nothing on the causes dear to the Islamic Ummah. For some time now, there have been stirrings to build an alternative Islamic bloc which isn’t tied to or tied down by the Arabs. Among the countries that appear keen on this new bloc are Iran, Turkey and Malaysia. Both Iran and Turkey have very strained relations with the Saudis, partly for historical, sectarian, cultural and ethnic reasons, and partly for geo-political reasons. In the Islamic world, the Arabs are the top dogs, the Persians and Turkic people form the second and third rung. Countries like Pakistan and Malaysia are the bureaucratic equivalent of Class IV employees of the Ummah (or in Pakistan’s bureaucratic parlance, the below Grade 10 employees).

Last year, the Pakistanis along with other countries tried to sow the seeds of an alternative OIC when a proposal was floated for a global Islamic TV channel and a summit was organised in Kuala Lumpur, where one of the issues that would be highlighted was Kashmir. The Saudis however were furious. The Saudi Crown Prince, who had given his personal aircraft to Imran Khan to travel to the UN General Assembly, took back his plane, forcing Imran Khan to travel back in a commercial airliner. Later, the Saudis warned the Pakistanis that if they dared to do go ahead with Malaysia, not only would the Saudis cut off all financial support – they gave the Pakistanis $6.2 billion in 2018-19 – but also deport Pakistani workers (who send around $5 billion every year in remittances), and replace them with Bangladeshis. Imran Khan succumbed to the threat and did not go to Malaysia. But the cracks had already appeared in the relationship. The Pakistanis were not just cut up about the lack of support on Kashmir, but also the growing closeness between Saudi Arabia and India, both political and diplomatic, and also in security and economic domain. Over the last few years, the Saudi-India relationship has strengthened – Saudi have deported terrorists and fugitives to India, the economic relationship is burgeoning, the political ties are better than any time in the past. Not just the Saudis, but also with their close allies UAE, India’s relations have become extremely close and strong. This was Pakistan’s playground and now India was crowding them out.

Apart from the India factor, there were other problems that had started to emerge in the Pak-Saudi relationship. Pakistan’s refusal to join the Saudi-UAE forces in the Yemen operations in 2015 didn’t go down well with both the Arab countries. At that time, the Chinese were sinking in money into Pakistan under the CPEC project and Pakistan’s ailing economy was given a boost. With the Chinese keeping their back – Xi Jinping had reportedly assured Nawaz Sharif that the Pakistanis that China would stand behind them in the event its ties with the Arab world unravelled – the Pakistanis felt bold enough to say no to the Saudis. The Chinese also blocked Saudis becoming a strategic partner in CPEC, something that the Pakistanis had announced after Imran Khan’s visit to Riyadh in September 2018. The Pakistanis were also chary of getting dragged into the Saudi-Iran sectarian conflict because of its repercussions inside Pakistan. Add to this, Pakistan’s growing closeness with Turkey which was emerging as an important security partner for not just Pakistan’s overt but also covert wars especially against India. With the Saudi-Turk relationship, always a little testy, going into a tailspin as a result of the Khashoggi affair, the Saudis were never going to look kindly on any compact with the Turks and Iranians. But the Pakistanis might be feeling that the time had come to break loose from the Saudi strings and exercise strategic autonomy. At the very least, hold this as a threat to make the Saudis address their concerns.

The third explanation is a rather sinister one, but cannot entirely be ruled out given Pakistan’s propensity for adventurism. The Pakistanis have for long developed deep contacts in the Saudi system. Pakistani forces are stationed in Saudi Arabia, ostensibly for training and advisory purposes. Some reports even claim the Pakistanis are there to defend the royal family. Given the divisions inside Saudi Arabia, could the Pakistanis be part of a deeper conspiracy by some other faction of the royal family? Although it sounds a little far-fetched and quite speculative, could the Pakistanis be aware of something, or even be a part of some such plan to topple the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman? Even the slightest possibility of something like this would mean that the presence of Pakistani security personnel in Saudi Arabia constitutes a danger to the royal family which really needs to reconsider using a mercenary army for its protection. For the Pakistanis, despite MbS having arranged Imran Khan’s meeting with US President Donald Trump and promising big investments in Pakistan, his impetuousness and his outreach to India makes him very unreliable and raises questions over the future trajectory of Saudi-Pakistan relations. Clearly, they would prefer someone more conservative at the helm in Riyadh, someone who will stick to the old template in which Pakistan was the ‘most favoured nation’.

It is entirely possible that the Pakistanis will back down from taking on the Saudis. The economic, diplomatic and political implications of going against the Saudis extend to going against virtually the entire Gulf and other Arab states. But the cracks that were already visible have widened and while they might still be papered over for some more time, they are unlikely to be repaired completely. Can India make use of this opportunity to further strengthen its relations with the Saudis and other of its close allies like the UAE? time will tell

 

[313ghazi]

I think it's all exaggerated. People trying to make a story where there isn't one.

Pakistan and Saudi still have interests that are aligned - even if not all of them are.

 

[Super Falcon]

I think pak should change its block time to be more open if not good in economy we can dictate gukdf by power if they replace us with india already gulf common people sick of hindus and we seen woman in bharain broke indian idols so this will be last nail in their monarch

 

[batmannow]

Security is needed for CPEC, madrasah are a threat to it if they are breeding extremists, bigger reason for crackdown, even Chinese are asking for greater security for their workers.

Madaeshas aren't any threat to CEPEC and has nothing to do anything with CEPEC it's all liberal crap who are against anyone who are against thier masters from where they been funded by NGOs, sorry biggest threat is these so called liberals who wants pakistan to become secular as others and bow down to Israel then give karachi baluchistan to Americans as a base, karachi to UK and pakistani part of kashmir to India Israel usa, against China and live under these so called liberal powers who are just liberal untill they need what they want?
Make clear of ur mind, that madersas poses any threat to any of our mega projects including CEPAC is just another prapoganda done by bloody liberals who wants to dance in masjids and show the world how Islam is dying in pakistan?

 

[tarrar]

Pakistan is on a right track under strong and right leadership.

 

[Baby Leone]

idiotic Pakistanis considers it a sin to criticize saudis and that has to be changed.

 

[Chhatrapati]

At least China and Turkey have something in common, they are making unnecessary enemies around them

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Pak has been ready for quite some time to take the game to the next level. Elhamdulillah all dices are falling into their right places showing the right numbers, thanks to the Sabr and Shukr being showed by the Pak Deep State in the presence of overwhelming opposition of all sorts. Tons of grand opportunities are opening up for them to grab with both hands....

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

idiotic Pakistanis considers it a sin to criticize saudis and that has to be changed.

The KSA has become pregnant with the chaos and mayhem that would belittle those in Syria, Iraq, Libya etc.! For it has always been the ultimate plan!! But, there exists the PLAN, that never fails to be EXECUTED, over all plans.....

 

[Curious_Guy]

while reading the article, i was dead sure its from indian paper but to my surprise a pakistani journalist

 

[Baby Leone]

At least China and Turkey have something in common, they are making unnecessary enemies around them

yeah and India is making new friends in her neighbors

indian would be the last person on earth to talk about making unnecessary enemies and spread hate

 

[Baby Leone]

while reading the article, i was dead sure its from indian paper but to my surprise a pakistani journalist

you may call him indian as well

 

[litman]

if you think our foriegn policy is not free then SMQ seemed hellbent on demolishing one of the pillars of his country’s foreign policy when he openly threatened Saudi Arabia to either lead the Muslim ummah and OIC against India’s constitutional reforms in Jammu and Kashmir, or else he would be left with no choice but to advise his prime minister, who has proclaimed himself as the ‘Ambassador of Kashmir’, that Pakistan must move forward and call a session of all those Islamic countries that are ready to stand with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, “with or without” the Saudis.Qureshi is no green horn like many other members of Imran Khan’s cabinet. As a seasoned politician, he isn’t given to making emotional outbursts, unless of course it is with a purpose.
Qureshi couldn’t have been behaving the loose cannon without someone really powerful – in Pakistan this only means the military – giving him the nod. There are two or three possible explanations.

The first explanation is that this was a trial balloon. We have been trying hard for an year to get the OIC to play a more pro-active role on Kashmir. But the Saudis, along with the UAE and a few other important Arab countries, haven’t shown much interest. They have fobbed off the us by getting the OIC Contact Group to issue meaningless statements. While the Saudi’s are a member of this 5 nation group, the other members are Pakistan, Turkey, Niger and Azerbaijan. Needless to say, apart from the Saudis, and to an extent Turkey, all the other countries are quite inconsequential even in the Islamic bloc. The Saudis however have not allowed any mention of Kashmir in the Mecca Declaration of OIC, nor have they allowed an extraordinary session of OIC foreign ministers on Kashmir in Pakistan, something We have been pitching for rather desperately. Worse, the OIC invited the Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj as a guest of honour in UAE – the Pakistanis boycotted that session – in early 2019 after the Balakot attack. The Saudis, Bahrain and UAE have honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their highest award – the last two countries did this after the constitutional reforms in Jammu and Kashmir last August. The Pakistanis were cut to the bone but continued to try for the foreign ministers meeting. It is now believed that through Qureshi, they have tried to rattle the cage. Issuing an ultimatum to the Saudis is a gamble. If it works, and the Saudis are pressured into doing Pakistan’s bidding, the Pakistanis can crow about their diplomatic success; if the Saudis react strongly, the Pakistanis can go on their knees and apologise profusely and blame it all on Qureshi, whom the Saudis don’t like much anyway because they see him as someone who earns his wealth from a grave – the shrine whose custodian he is.

The second possible explanation is that Qureshi was signalling the beginning of a shift of strategy in Pakistan’s playbook in the Islamic world. Most Pakistanis disparage the OIC as “Oh I see” or "Organization of Isreali/India Cooperation", an organisation that really delivers nothing on the causes dear to the Islamic Ummah. For some time now, there have been stirrings to build an alternative Islamic bloc which isn’t tied to or tied down by the Arabs. Among the countries that appear keen on this new bloc are Iran, Turkey and Malaysia. Both Iran and Turkey have very strained relations with the Saudis, partly for historical, sectarian, cultural and ethnic reasons, and partly for geo-political reasons. In the Islamic world, the Arabs are the top dogs, the Persians and Turkic people form the second and third rung. Countries like Pakistan and Malaysia are the bureaucratic equivalent of Class IV employees of the Ummah (or in Pakistan’s bureaucratic parlance, the below Grade 10 employees).

Last year, the Pakistanis along with other countries tried to sow the seeds of an alternative OIC when a proposal was floated for a global Islamic TV channel and a summit was organised in Kuala Lumpur, where one of the issues that would be highlighted was Kashmir. The Saudis however were furious. The Saudi Crown Prince, who had given his personal aircraft to Imran Khan to travel to the UN General Assembly, took back his plane, forcing Imran Khan to travel back in a commercial airliner. Later, the Saudis warned the Pakistanis that if they dared to do go ahead with Malaysia, not only would the Saudis cut off all financial support – they gave the Pakistanis $6.2 billion in 2018-19 – but also deport Pakistani workers (who send around $5 billion every year in remittances), and replace them with Bangladeshis. Imran Khan succumbed to the threat and did not go to Malaysia. But the cracks had already appeared in the relationship. The Pakistanis were not just cut up about the lack of support on Kashmir, but also the growing closeness between Saudi Arabia and India, both political and diplomatic, and also in security and economic domain. Over the last few years, the Saudi-India relationship has strengthened – Saudi have deported terrorists and fugitives to India, the economic relationship is burgeoning, the political ties are better than any time in the past. Not just the Saudis, but also with their close allies UAE, India’s relations have become extremely close and strong. This was Pakistan’s playground and now India was crowding them out.

Apart from the India factor, there were other problems that had started to emerge in the Pak-Saudi relationship. Pakistan’s refusal to join the Saudi-UAE forces in the Yemen operations in 2015 didn’t go down well with both the Arab countries. At that time, the Chinese were sinking in money into Pakistan under the CPEC project and Pakistan’s ailing economy was given a boost. With the Chinese keeping their back – Xi Jinping had reportedly assured Nawaz Sharif that the Pakistanis that China would stand behind them in the event its ties with the Arab world unravelled – the Pakistanis felt bold enough to say no to the Saudis. The Chinese also blocked Saudis becoming a strategic partner in CPEC, something that the Pakistanis had announced after Imran Khan’s visit to Riyadh in September 2018. The Pakistanis were also chary of getting dragged into the Saudi-Iran sectarian conflict because of its repercussions inside Pakistan. Add to this, Pakistan’s growing closeness with Turkey which was emerging as an important security partner for not just Pakistan’s overt but also covert wars especially against India. With the Saudi-Turk relationship, always a little testy, going into a tailspin as a result of the Khashoggi affair, the Saudis were never going to look kindly on any compact with the Turks and Iranians. But the Pakistanis might be feeling that the time had come to break loose from the Saudi strings and exercise strategic autonomy. At the very least, hold this as a threat to make the Saudis address their concerns.

The third explanation is a rather sinister one, but cannot entirely be ruled out given Pakistan’s propensity for adventurism. The Pakistanis have for long developed deep contacts in the Saudi system. Pakistani forces are stationed in Saudi Arabia, ostensibly for training and advisory purposes. Some reports even claim the Pakistanis are there to defend the royal family. Given the divisions inside Saudi Arabia, could the Pakistanis be part of a deeper conspiracy by some other faction of the royal family? Although it sounds a little far-fetched and quite speculative, could the Pakistanis be aware of something, or even be a part of some such plan to topple the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman? Even the slightest possibility of something like this would mean that the presence of Pakistani security personnel in Saudi Arabia constitutes a danger to the royal family which really needs to reconsider using a mercenary army for its protection. For the Pakistanis, despite MbS having arranged Imran Khan’s meeting with US President Donald Trump and promising big investments in Pakistan, his impetuousness and his outreach to India makes him very unreliable and raises questions over the future trajectory of Saudi-Pakistan relations. Clearly, they would prefer someone more conservative at the helm in Riyadh, someone who will stick to the old template in which Pakistan was the ‘most favoured nation’.

It is entirely possible that the Pakistanis will back down from taking on the Saudis. The economic, diplomatic and political implications of going against the Saudis extend to going against virtually the entire Gulf and other Arab states. But the cracks that were already visible have widened and while they might still be papered over for some more time, they are unlikely to be repaired completely. Can India make use of this opportunity to further strengthen its relations with the Saudis and other of its close allies like the UAE? time will tell

you are quite right with your assesment. when SMQ made that statement i was astonished that how come a cool minded person like SMQ can say such emotional words and why did he say so? but i think there is another explanation to this. IMO pak knew about whats going on between UAE and israel and they also know whats going to happen between israel and other Arab states in near future so pak is expecting decline in its relations with the arabs . the arabs have more business terms with india and now israel jumping in . it will definitely kick pak out of gulf and we should not expect any support from gulf countries regarding kashmir. on the other hand in kashmir recently world bank has refused to intervene on water issue in kashmir as india is building dams on rivers in kashmir against the indus water treaty. that could be the red line for pakistan and if the world doesnt pressurize india through UN or arabs through OIC not to go ahead with the plans pakistan will be left with no choice but to opt for a military action. with pak pretty much out of gulf as you have said china might have given some assurances regarding the financial support if arabs pull out their support completely. the saudi and pakistani interests are clashing now. with israel as a friend of arabs and american bases all over arab countries i dont think the arabs need any military support from pak. for training their military they can still call on the indians and americans. india will happily send muslim officers and men from its army to arab countries for training. today's visit of COAS is crucial in shaping the future of pakistan in ME. apparently the reception was cold with some officer of the rank of Lt col receiving the army chief. i dont know how our boss was previously received in saudia .he is the best judge himself about any change in the attitude of saudis towards pakistanis. a new cold war has already started between china and USA and china is doing agressive diplomacy in ME, south asia for which they also need pakistan. pak must stand on its feet as soon as possible and i think IK is the right man for this job. he doesnt need arab support for his personal businesses or to cover up his corruption so he can take pakistan into the right block. it is not advisable for pakistan to suddenly pull out of arab world but if they dont show any support to pak regarding kashmir it means pak will be left with no choice.

 

[ziaulislam]

The Turkish-Pakistani relationship is rather influenced by Pakistan's position on China-related topics than Islamabad's relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-Pakistani alliance was never a problem for Turkey. Why should it be?

Therefore, I don't believe that anything with regards to the Turkish-Pakistani relationship will change just because Riadh and Islamabad are at odds.

pakistan will try it best to maintain good relations with all countries..
this has been corner stone of our policy

apart from Afghanistan which doesn't except Pakistan as country and Bangladesh new regime which uses Pakistan as tool for propagating its dictatorship on opposition parties we have no issues with any other country

 

[xyx007]

you are quite right with your assesment. when SMQ made that statement i was astonished that how come a cool minded person like SMQ can say such emotional words and why did he say so? but i think there is another explanation to this. IMO pak knew about whats going on between UAE and israel and they also know whats going to happen between israel and other Arab states in near future so pak is expecting decline in its relations with the arabs . the arabs have more business terms with india and now israel jumping in . it will definitely kick pak out of gulf and we should not expect any support from gulf countries regarding kashmir. on the other hand in kashmir recently world bank has refused to intervene on water issue in kashmir as india is building dams on rivers in kashmir against the indus water treaty. that could be the red line for pakistan and if the world doesnt pressurize india through UN or arabs through OIC not to go ahead with the plans pakistan will be left with no choice but to opt for a military action. with pak pretty much out of gulf as you have said china might have given some assurances regarding the financial support if arabs pull out their support completely. the saudi and pakistani interests are clashing now. with israel as a friend of arabs and american bases all over arab countries i dont think the arabs need any military support from pak. for training their military they can still call on the indians and americans. india will happily send muslim officers and men from its army to arab countries for training. today's visit of COAS is crucial in shaping the future of pakistan in ME. apparently the reception was cold with some officer of the rank of Lt col receiving the army chief. i dont know how our boss was previously received in saudia .he is the best judge himself about any change in the attitude of saudis towards pakistanis. a new cold war has already started between china and USA and china is doing agressive diplomacy in ME, south asia for which they also need pakistan. pak must stand on its feet as soon as possible and i think IK is the right man for this job. he doesnt need arab support for his personal businesses or to cover up his corruption so he can take pakistan into the right block. it is not advisable for pakistan to suddenly pull out of arab world but if they dont show any support to pak regarding kashmir it means pak will be left with no choice.

Pakistan is at the crossroads of a world order which is not uni-polar anymore, the strategic shifts have taken place already. Intensive security threats are a challenge to Pakistan’s economy and regional stability. In such circumstances, Bajwa’s proactive military diplomacy has brought in opportunities and allies for Pakistan. His next three years in office can be expected to shape the future direction of the country’s progress.
Pakistan, in recent years, has made sure that it keeps a right balance in its policy with all its time tested friends.
Also, Pakistan’s relations with one country shouldn’t be at the cost of the other. Bajwa has kept that balance well. His frequent and timely visits to the Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE, right after he became the chief of army staff, reflected his political acumen in military diplomacy. Taking the Gulf States and strong allies like Saudi Arabia and UAE into confidence and then strategically improving relations with the opposites like Iran and Qatar shows Bajwa’s preparedness and efficient execution of strategy.


Just read this article, make you laugh, and tell you the mindset of MBS what he has done for Pakistan without mentioning what we have done to Saudis. MBS has no idea about the diplomatic norms and this what Bajwa is dealing with in Saudi.
https://nation.com.pk/13-Aug-2020/s...ghlighting-warmness-of-its-ties-with-pakistan