Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Begins Three-Day Saudi Arabia Visit, Set to Meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed on Wednesday for a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to hold an important meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to discuss bilateral ties, regional security, and investment cooperation.
According to Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, the visit will continue from August 6 to August 8. The prime minister is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and a high-level delegation.
During the visit, the two sides are expected to review Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations, expand bilateral cooperation, promote investment opportunities, and exchange views on regional security and the evolving situation in the Middle East.
The discussions will also cover developments in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories, East Jerusalem, the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and broader regional tensions. Pakistan will reaffirm its commitment to supporting diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region.
The Foreign Office spokesperson also said Pakistan continues to play an active diplomatic role regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and considers any potential agreement to ease tensions in the region to be of significant importance. He praised Oman’s mediation efforts and expressed hope that a final agreement would contribute to regional stability.
Separately, Ishaq Dar attended the ministerial meeting on Al-Quds in Jordan on August 5, where he held bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Jordan, Türkiye, Egypt, Algeria, Iran, and Somalia. During the meetings, he invited the Iranian foreign minister to visit Pakistan.
Participants at the Jordan meeting reaffirmed that a just resolution of the Palestinian issue remains essential for lasting peace in the Middle East. They reiterated support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.
The spokesperson further said that Pakistan and the United States recently held a new round of counterterrorism talks, agreeing to strengthen cooperation on regional peace, border security, and combating terrorist networks.
Responding to regional issues, the Foreign Office rejected recent remarks by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, accusing India of attempting to alter the demographic composition of Indian-administered Kashmir. The spokesperson maintained that such measures cannot undermine the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
He also stated that terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory remain a threat to regional security and alleged that certain networks, particularly the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), receive financial support from India. He described recent clashes in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province as an internal Afghan matter and rejected Indian allegations regarding Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as baseless.
