Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the future of Pakistan’s economy is now firmly linked with China, as it has come to realise that the days of receiving billions of dollars in aid from the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is coming to an end.
In an interview Imran Khan gave to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, Khan has said that Pakistan’s economic future is now linked to China and said China’s growth rate is faster than any other country and he wants Pakistan to benefit from this and help lift its people out of poverty. However, many experts conclusively believe that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is nothing but a debt trap for Pakistan as China keeps getting ownership of infrastructure it built in Pakistan.
Though Imran Khan said, Saudi Arabia is still a friend and will always remain a friend and wants the Organisation of International Countries (OIC) to take a bigger role on Kashmir, the OIC headed by Saudi Arabia has not shown any interest or willingness to raise the Kashmir issue.
In the interview, Khan called the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A as a violation of human rights of Kashmiris and called upon the world to help Pakistan fight this injustice. However, he also acknowledged that due to India’s economic might and investment opportunities no country wants to help resolve the Kashmir issue which he has claimed many times could become a nuclear flashpoint.
Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI's interview with Al Jazeera
— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) September 3, 2020
"Saudi Arabia will always remain a friend of Pakistan. However, we want OIC to take a bigger role on Kashmir." – Prime Minister Imran Khan#PMIKonAlJazeera pic.twitter.com/Qgl8JN0WJ7
For decades, the wealthy kingdom gave billions of dollars in aid to its allies to become the leader of not only the Arab world but the entire Umma, Muslim community. In this mission, the Saudis did find a lot of success but with Pakistan moving closer to Turkey there are plans to form an alternative Muslim block with Iran and Qatar.
This has led to a rethinking of its dynamics with Pakistan not to mention the plummeting oil revenues. Fact is, for decades the loan Saudi Arabia gave to Pakistan was rarely paid back. However, the kingdom is now expecting repayment marks a shift in the bilateral relationship.
The issue of growing economic and security relationship between India and Saudi Arabia over the past decade has been a constant thorn in the flesh for Pakistan. India and Saudi Arabia are actually working very closely when it comes to counter-terrorism issues. Which is why Riyadh has repeatedly refused Islamabad’s call for a high-level meeting on Kashmir at the OIC.
The Saudis, it seems have arrived at an impasse wherein a lot of thought is being put on this old alliances because Pakistan has very little to offer in return. The relationship got further strained when Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi issued a warning to Saudi Arabia that it better call for a Foreign Minister-level meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries on Kashmir.