Saudi Arabia Ends Loan, Oil Supply to Pakistan over Kashmir
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi Arabia has ended a loan and oil supply to Pakistan due to the South Asian nation’s criticism that the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is not doing enough to pressure India on the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan was last week forced to repay a Saudi loan of $1 billion that the kingdom called in after Pakistan insisted it be allowed to lead the OIC’s support for Kashmir, a region largely under Indian occupation and which was annexed by India last year.
The loan was part of a $6.2 billion package announced by Saudi Arabia in November 2018, which included a total of $3 billion in loans and an oil credit facility amounting to $3.2 billion. Those deals were then signed when Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman made a visit to Pakistan in February last year.
Relations between the two countries then started to break down, however, when Riyadh turned down Islamabad’s request to convene a special meeting of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers. Pakistan continued to demand the OIC use its role to help Kashmir, with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stating in an interview that “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation.”
The foreign minister made the comments despite risking his country’s ties with the kingdom, acknowledging that “It’s right, I’m taking a position despite our good ties with Saudi Arabia…We cannot stay silent anymore on the sufferings of the Kashmiris.”
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have historically had strong bilateral relations in the financial, trade and military sectors, making the increased tensions between the two countries a concern for many and particularly for Pakistan.
