RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other senior officials reached Saudi Arabia on Monday on a day-long visit.
Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Al Saud Governor of Riyadh received the Pakistani delegation upon its arrival in the Saudi Capital.
The visit of the Pakistani delegation comprising the prime minister and the COAS as well is being undertaken a day after the inaugural meeting the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) Ministers of Defense Council went underway in Riyadh under the theme “Allied against Terrorism”.
The Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan represented Pakistan in the meeting of the IMCTC Ministers of Defense Council.
Sources said that during the visit, the prime minister will have a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to share Pakistan-Saudi Arabia strategic partnership.
“The (IMCTC Ministers of Defense Council) meeting aims to consolidate bonds of cooperation and integration within the coalition and represents the effective beginning of the IMCTC efforts, which included 41 Islamic states, to coordinate and unify efforts in fighting extremism and extremism in addition to integration with other international efforts,” according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
On Sunday while speaking at the opening of the inaugural meeting of the IMCTC Ministers of Defense Council in Riyadh, the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman vowed that extremists would no longer “tarnish our beautiful religion,” adding that Sunday’s meeting sent “a strong signal that we are going to work together and coordinate together to support each other.”
“The biggest danger of this terrorism and extremism is the tarnishing of the reputation of our beloved religion… We will not allow this to happen,” the Saudi Crown Prince said. “Today, we start the pursuit of terrorism and we see its defeat in many facets around the world especially in Muslim countries… We will continue to fight it until we see its defeat.”
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan’s former COAS General (retd) Raheel Sharif is the Commander-in-Chief of the IMCTC.
The Saudi government wishes deployment of Pakistani troops as component of the Muslim force. However Pakistan is yet to answer such demand of Riyadh.
