PM Nawaz leaves for Riyadh to help ease Saudi-Qatar rift
The premier is accompanied by Gen Qamar Bajwa, Sartaj Aziz anad other senior officials.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has left for Riyadh to hold talks on the ongoing crisis involving Qatar and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and senior officials are accompanying the premier.
Earlier today, PM Nawaz summoned a meeting of Pakistan’s top envoys from Gulf countries to discuss diplomatic crisis in Middle East.
“Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries,” Nawaz Sharif had told journalists during a recent visit to Kazakhstan.
Pakistan shares “good” ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the country’s parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had cut ties with Qatar last week, accusing their former Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ally of supporting extremist groups.
‘NO PAKISTANI TROOPS IN QATAR’
Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan rejected as "fabricated and baseless" reports that it plans to deploy its troops in Qatar amid diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria rejected reports appearing in some foreign media regarding deployment of Pakistani troops in Qatar.
He said these were "completely fabricated and baseless".
Zakaria stressed that "these false reports appear to be part of a malicious campaign aimed at creating misunderstanding between Pakistan and brotherly Muslim countries in the Gulf."
