Saudi Arabia shall always be our Friend - PM Imran Khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia shall always be a friend of Pakistan despite the government’s recent criticism of the OIC over the Kashmir Issue. ‘Saudi Arabia will always be a friend of Pakistan’, he said in an interview.  He said that Kashmir was a conflict entirely between Pakistan and India and that if it worsens, it might carry effects on the rest of the world. The parts that are quiet on the issue, are major because they’re worried about their commercial interests, he stated.

He also talked about the recent deal between Israel and the UAE saying that the issue shall keep growing even if some countries go on to recognize Israel as a state.  About the crackdown on the media in Pakistan and intimidation of journalists, the Prime Minister said that no other government in the country’s history had been prey to such criticism. He added that it were the ministers who were unprotected and not the media.

When asked about the status of CPEC, the prime minister said that Islamabad’s relationship with Beijing was ‘better than ever.’ He clarified that in no way was Islamabad re-settling its ties with the United States and that each country looks for the maximum benefits for itself. He said that Pakistan had the ‘best relationship’ with the US right now as to both being the partners in peace in Afghanistan. He never took it as either China or the United States.