Saudi Arabia comes out in open support of India’s Kashmir policy

“The two sides stressed the need for dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries, especially the Jammu & Kashmir dispute to ensure peace and stability in the region,’’ a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Pakistan said late on the evening of April 9. The statement has been issued after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif completed a three-day tour of Saudi Arabia with an entourage comprising several Cabinet ministers and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

During his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Sultan (aka MBS), de factor ruler of the ingdom, Shehbaz Sharif talked about a host of issues. He also referred to the tense relations Pakistan presently has with Bharat for the last five years since abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. However, it appears MBS refused to intercede with Bharat on Pakistan’s behalf and asked it to have a direct dialogue and resolve issues bilaterally.

This is in consonance with the stance of the Crown Prince articulated in August 2019. At that time, MBS had expressed concern over the scrapping of Article 370 but also termed it as “an internal matter’’ of Bharat. This was a clear rebuff to Pakistan as it has time and again tried to internationalise the issue. Pakistan’s attempts to take the help of the US and Saudi Arabia in resolving the issues with Bharat over the past few years have repeatedly failed.

Saudi Arabia has good relations with both Bharat and Pakistan but it adopts a position of neutrality when it comes to Bharat-Pakistan bilateral relations. At one time, during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure some years ago, Pakistan had said uncharitable things about Saudi Arabia’s leadership of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). This was not taken kindly by Saudi Arabia which is one of the largest donors for Pakistan.

Incidentally, the joint statement was issued one day after MBS-Sharif official meeting at Mecca on Sunday. On Tuesday, the reports regarding what exactly the Crown Prince told Sharif on Jammu & Kashmir may become clear after the day’s newspapers become available. The statement of only Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) have come out in the public now. The Saudi Press agency reports are also likely to become available within the next 24 hours.

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker has made it clear that “any discussions, if at all warranted, will be only with Pakistan and only bilaterally’’. If truth be told, it shows Pakistan’s desperation to start bilateral dialogue at the earliest despite knowing that it is election time in Bharat. It also knows that the Modi government is not inclined at this juncture to engage with Pakistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly said it wants dialogue with Bharat on all issues, including Jammu & Kashmir. In response, New Delhi has told it that normal friendly relations with Pakistan are its desire, in an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism.