DLP REPORT
\nISLAMABAD
\nPakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left for China on a two-day visit on Thursday for the second round of the Beijing-Islamabad foreign ministers strategic dialogue following the return of the country\u2019s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa from a visit to Saudi Arabia.
\nWhile the army\u2019s media wing had said that military ties were discussed during Bajwa\u2019s visit to Riyadh, observers viewed it as an exercise aimed at controlling damage caused by Qureshi\u2019s remarks earlier this month, blasting the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for not actively denouncing New Delhi\u2019s actions in the India\u2019s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir region. The FM had even threatened to seek support from other Muslim countries if the Saudi-dominated OIC fails to support Pakistan\u2019s position on occupied Kashmir.
\nIn a video message released before his departure, Qureshi said he was going on a \u201cvery important trip to China\u201d and that he had a discussion with Prime Minister Imran Khan ahead of leaving. In a recent television interview, PM Khan had claimed that Pakistan\u2019s future is connected with China and also stressed on Islamabad\u2019s importance for Beijing.
\n\u201cI am leaving on a very important visit to China. I had a discussion with the prime minister regarding this visit yesterday. My delegation will represent the stance of the political and military leadership of the country. <\/p>\n
I am hopeful that my meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi will prove to be beneficial for both countries,\u201d the FM said.
\nQureshi\u2019s remarks on Riyadh\u2019s tilt towards India on Kashmir had revived anger of the Gulf Kingdom, forcing Islamabad to pay back $1bn prematurely and was reportedly demanding another $1bn of the loan.
\nPakistan had to borrow $1 billion from China to repay part of a $3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia to prop up Islamabad\u2019s depleting foreign reserves.
\nA traditional ally, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018.
\nHuge amounts of money sent by expatriates in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and other Gulf states have a significant effect on Pakistan\u2019s economy.
\nSaudi Arabia and the UAE jointly host more than three million Pakistanis.
\nSaudi Arabia, where 1.9 million Pakistanis reside, tops the list of countries with the highest remittances to Pakistan at more than $4.5 billion annually, followed by the UAE, with in excess of $3.47 billion, according to official statistics. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DLP REPORT ISLAMABAD Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left for China on a two-day visit on Thursday for the second round of the Beijing-Islamabad foreign ministers strategic dialogue following the return of the country\u2019s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa from a visit to Saudi Arabia. While the army\u2019s media wing had said that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n