ISLAMABAD: In June 1986, when Dr. Khalid Abbas Asadi was selected to treat engineers, laborers and their families working on the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, he felt that his mother’s dream that he be able to serve the holy city had finally come true. 
Asadi became privy to the job opening by chance when a Saudi friend shared news of the vacancy with him during his last days of studying medicine at a university in Egypt. He applied on a whim and was selected. Since then he has lived in Madinah, serving as a medical doctor at the renowned Dr. Hamid Sulaiman Al-Ahmadi Hospital.
“I was the selected doctor for the families of laborers, engineers and others working on the expansion project [of the Prophet’s Mosque], and this was the luckiest moment of my life because my mother’s dream came true,” Asadi, a father of four originally from Karachi, told Arab News in an interview.
The Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah is one of the biggest mosques in the world and can accommodate over a million worshippers at any given time. It remains Islam’s second holiest site, and has been expanded at least 14 times in the 1,400 years of Islamic history.
The expansion project he worked on, Asadi said, was a historic project during King Fahd’s rule and was “nothing less than an architectural miracle.” 
“The expansion of the mosque is in fact one of the most beautiful gifts of the Kingdom to the whole Muslim world,” he said.
Asadi, who has written a lyrical book on Saudi Arabia’s ties with Pakistan, said the Kingdom’s people were “peaceful, hospitable and generous” and above all, loyal friends. 
“They love their traditions and always find ways to help their Muslim brothers across the globe,” Asadi said. “Saudi people, like their government, love Pakistanis a lot … they have always contributed generously to help Pakistanis in difficult times like earthquakes, floods. They feel the pain of Pakistanis.”
“Being a doctor I have been in touch with Saudi people for the last 38 years and have always felt their profound love for Pakistan and Pakistanis,” the doctor added. 
Asadi said Pak-Saudi relations had taken a new turn under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) under whose Vision 2030 the Kingdom was destined to become an economic superpower of the world, a scenario that Pakistan would benefit greatly from. 
Right from King Abdul Aziz to Crown Prince Salman, Asadi said, “they all love Pakistanis and that is a great honor for us.”
“We all look toward MBS for deeper relationship … his vision for 2030 is a great plan,” Asadi said. “Saudi Arabia surely is destined to become an economic super power and we all pray for it.”