Saudi, UAE Foreign Mins arrive in Pak for talks

Islamabad: Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday to discuss the regional situation with the country's top civil and military leadership amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions over Kashmir.

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 Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, reported the Dawn newspaper.

Qureshi said the visits were part of Pakistan's diplomatic effort to sensitise the world about the Kashmir issue after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir last month.

The Saudi and UAE ministers are expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Tension between India and Pakistan has spiked after New Delhi withdrew Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.

A statement issued by the Saudi embassy in Islamabad on Tuesday said that matters relating to bilateral relations between the two countries will also be discussed in the meetings.

Saudi Arabia is a close ally of cash-strapped Pakistan and Riyadh has provided aid worth billions of dollars to Islamabad to overcome its financial woes.

The Saudi minister's visit came after Prime Minister Khan telephoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed the situation in Kashmir.

The latest phone call was the third between the prime minister and the Saudi crown prince in three weeks.

Pakistan, which has downgraded its diplomatic ties with India, has been trying to raise the Kashmir issue at various international fora. Khan has been repeatedly warning the possibility of a military confrontation between the two nuclear armed neighbours over the Kashmir issue.