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KARACHI: It is one small step for Imran Khan; a giant leap for Pakistan’s bilateral ties with the Kingdom.
Beginning Tuesday, in what would be his first foreign trip after taking office in August, Pakistan’s newly-installed prime minister will visit ��������Ƶ, before heading to the UAE.
Former diplomats, including those who served in ��������Ƶ, viewed the move as an attempt to strengthen the historic ties between Riyadh and Islamabad. “Pakistan has always enjoyed special relations with ��������Ƶ and the two governments continue to help each other whenever possible,” Shahid M. Amin, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the Kingdom, said.
Observing that the “next couple of days are very important”, Amin said PM Khan must keep in line with tradition by nurturing the bond between the two countries — just like every other prime minister before him.
He recalled instances when Pakistani troops were stationed in ��������Ƶ. “Similarly, when Pakistan faced an economic embargo in the aftermath of the nuclear blasts on May 28, 1998, it was KSA [Kingdom of ��������Ƶ] that generously extended economic help and provided free oil to the country for three years,” he told Arab News on Monday.
Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director of Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), said the visit was “basically a renewal of the past relations with the ��������Ƶ,” which, he added, had always been good.
And while PM Khan had once opposed the appointment of General (Retd.) Raheel Sharif as the head of the 39-nation Islamic military alliance, Gul said every move and decisions he makes now “should be well-calculated”. “Time has proven that the alliance Sharif is heading is against terrorism. Now…Khan will focus on the economic issues,” Amin said.