ISLAMABAD – Pakistan planned elaborate security measures for Saudi CrownPrince Mohammad bin Salman’s maiden visit to Islamabad on Saturday duringwhich a number of agreements worth billions of dollars investment would besigned between the two countries.
Mohammad, who is also the Gulf Kingdom’s vice president of the council ofministers and defence minister, will arrive here on February 16 on hisfirst state visit to Pakistan since his elevation to the position of thecrown prince in April 2017, the Foreign Office said.
An interior ministry official sais that a four-tier security arrangementshave been made for the crown prince, colloquially known as MBS.
The outer most tier will be manned by police, the second by paramilitaryRanger, the third by the army and the fourth and inner most by the royalguards of the prince.
About 10 bullet proof vehicles have already been transported to Pakistanfrom Saudi Arabia which will be used by the prince and his aides.
Security officials said that Pakistan’s airspace will be shut down on hisarrival, cellphone services suspended and main routes closed to heavytraffic in Islamabad and Rawalpindi over the weekend.
Additional police and paramilitary Rangers personnel will be deployed atthe main entry point to Islamabad while special check points will be set upwithin the city.
Security in the neighbouring garrison city of Rawalpindi will also bebeefed up. Toy drone and similar objects will be banned and destroyed onsight and action will be taken against those using them.
The prince will also use about 130 royal guards. A 235-member delegation ofthe Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), led by Pakistan’sformer army chief General Raheel Sharif, is in the capital to ensurefoolproof security.
Special traffic plan were being put in place to divert vehicles.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are likely to sign over USD 10 billion investmentagreements, including a multibillion dollar oil refinery in Gwadar, duringhis visit.
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The prince will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation includingmembers of the royal family, key ministers and leading businessmen.
Official sources said that his entourage includes about 1,000 officials.
During his visit, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will be signing a number ofagreements and MoUs in diverse sectors, including investment, finance,power, renewable energy, internal security, media, culture and sports.
The two countries will also discuss ways and means to develop a robustfollow-up mechanism to ensure effective implementation and quick progresson tangible areas of cooperation.
The prince will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief Qamar JavedBajwa and call on President Arif Alvi.
The Saudi ministers accompanying the crown prince will meet theircounterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation in their respective fields.
On the sidelines of the visit, businessmen of the two countries will alsomeet to discuss opportunities of collaboration in the private sector.
Saudi Arabia has committed USD 6 billion to Pakistan as part of a bailoutpackage to help shore up Islamabad’s dwindling foreign currency reserves.
