Saudi and Pakistan: partners in progress and stability
Strengthening strategic ties with Saudi Arabia has long been a pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy — one of the constants that never wavered over seven decades of the latter’s history.
While relations with China have been another rare constant, Islamabad’s bilateral ties with Riyadh have been stronger and longer. This is in part because of the common faith both their peoples share and their immense affinity towards Makkah and Madina, as well as the great respect Pakistanis have for King Salman and his guardianship of the holiest places of Islam.
Last week, Pakistan’s highest political and security leaderships affirmed this unique relationship between the two countries with a visit to the Kingdom. Highlights included a summit with King Salman and participation in the impressive concluding ceremony near Dammam of Gulf Shield-1, the month-long joint military exercise led by Saudi Arabia and participated by 24 countries, including Pakistan.
Islamabad’s high-level delegation was led by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and included Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and intelligence chief Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar. Their Saudi counterparts were also present.
Also in attendance was Riyadh-based former Pakistani army chief Raheel Sharif who currently commands the 41-country Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) led by Saudi Arabia.
The summit between the top Saudi and Pakistani political and military leaderships was significant due to the special protocol accorded to the visitors by the King.
Both sides discussed ways to further strengthen strategic bilateral ties, and the geopolitical situation in the region with special consideration for security-related matters. The discussion encompassed a broad gamut of mutual interests including furthering counterterrorism and stability efforts in the broader Gulf region.
Islamabad assured Riyadh of full support for its efforts to enhance security and stability in the region, Pakistani media reported.
Along with several other heads of state and government leaders from other nations, the Pakistani prime minister and his high-powered delegation joined King Salman to witness the concluding ceremony of Gulf Shield-1.
On display was the full military might of IMCTC, including air, land and sea components.
Both countries share common national and regional interests that encourage a strong partnership towards enhancing stability in the region.
Adnan Rehmat
In a show of force, JF-17 fighters of the Pakistan Air Force, elite Special Services group commandos and naval destroyers Tipu Sultan and Himmat were also displayed to affirm Islamabad’s commitment to shared regional security interests.
The latest summit between the Saudi and Pakistani leadership is the newest manifestation of deepening strategic ties between the two states straddling the opposite banks of the Arabian Sea. Post Al-Qaeda, political and security observers in Pakistan see the IMCTC as a strategic expansion of bilateral ties that go beyond political and economic domains into the realm of security and political partnership based on shared goals of a stable Arabian region.
For Islamabad, enhancing ties beyond an export of manpower to Saudi Arabia — where over 1.5 million Pakistanis are employed in the Kingdom, the highest in any single country — and a reliable source of oil-based energy makes strategic sense. Pakistan has managed to successfully combat terrorism in recent years and can share its experience against a similar set of threats.
For Islamabad, working with Saudi Arabia helps prevent any critical mass of resurgence of terrorism in the region that could possibly spill over into Pakistan. For Riyadh, a closer relationship with Pakistan furthers its goal of becoming a more influential political and security player in a region traditionally fraught with risks and hostilities.
Pakistan is also the Muslim world’s only nuclear power and one of only a few military powers in the world to have fought and won a post-9/11 counterterrorism war.
A confluence of deepening interests between Islamabad and Riyadh is also served by incidental but significant parallel political trajectories.
The Kingdom is undertaking a raft of breathtaking and inspirational political reforms aimed at propelling it into a modern society with social progress and stability at its heart. Pakistan itself is gearing for a landmark electoral transition that is expected to usher in an era of unprecedented political stability. It will hold parliamentary elections in the summer, capping the longest period in its 70-year history uninterrupted by military rule. Recent legislative reforms are further consolidating political stability in a country not renowned for it.
Islamabad and Riyadh thus share common national and regional goals that make them natural partners progressing towards far-reaching reforms that have the potential to dramatically enhance stability in the region.
• Adnan Rehmat is a Pakistan-based journalist, researcher and analyst with interests in politics, media, development and science. Twitter: @adnanrehmat1
