ISLAMABAD – Saudi Arabia government responds over media reports ofpressurising and threatening Pakistan over Kuala Lumpur Summit .
Saudi Arabia dismissed on Saturday the reports that Saudi Arabia‘pressurised’ and ‘threatened’ Pakistan to refrain from participating inthe Kuala Lampur Summit and termed it as ‘fake news’.
Turkish newspaper *Daily Sabah* reported on Friday that Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan said that Pakistan decided not to attend the recentlyconcluded Kuala Lumpur summit because of Saudi Arabia’s threats of economicsanctions.
“Unfortunately, we see that Saudi Arabia pressures Pakistan. Now, there arepromises that the country has given to Pakistan regarding the central bank.However, more than that, there are four million Pakistanis working in SaudiArabia. They threaten by saying that they would send Pakistanis back andre-employ Bangladeshis instead,” the Turkish newspaper reported.
In a statement issued today, the Saudi embassy stated that the relationsbetween the countries are superior to the language of threat.”The brotherlyrelations between the countries are long-standing and strategic based ontrust, understanding and mutual respect,” the statement further said.
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Affirming the relations between Pakistan and the kingdom, the statementadded that Saudi Arabia has always stood with Pakistan during difficulttimes, local media reported.”We strive always to stand with Pakistan to bea successful and stable country,” the embassy added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan too has issued a statement and said that it did notparticipate in the Kuala Lampur Summit ‘as time and efforts were needed toaddress the concerns of major Muslim countries regarding possible divisionin the Ummah.
“Pakistan will continue to work for the unity and solidarity of the Ummah,which is indispensable for effectively addressing the challenges faced bythe Muslim world,” the Pakistan’s Foreign Office said.
