ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Pakistani lawmakers met with the Saudi Shoura Council in Riyadh on Monday to enhance inter-parliamentary cooperation and discuss the condition of the world’s Muslim community, including the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Led by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, the Pakistani delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia to meet with Shoura chairman Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh and sign a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi consultative body.
“Speaker (Qaiser) apprised his Saudi counterpart about the tyranny of Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. He said that decisions taken by (the) Indian government had put the minorities in India at risk,” Pakistan’s Embassy in Riyadh said in a statement.
According to the statement, Qaiser said Kashmir was a flashpoint of the situation in the subcontinent and suggested that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should play its role in resolving the issue.
He also informed the Shoura chairman about plans to hold an international parliamentary conference on Kashmir in Islamabad early next year.
The embassy statement said Abdullah “agreed that OIC could play an important role in putting pressure on India for resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with its international commitments.” He also said India should award constitutional rights to the people of Kashmir.
In the context of increasing Islamophobia in the West, both agreed that a necessary condition to addressing it was unity among the Muslim community.
During the visit, the speaker is expected to meet with King Salman, while other members of the Pakistani delegation will perform the Umrah, the statement added.
Abdullah recently headed a Saudi delegation to Islamabad which arrived for a three-day visit on Dec. 4 to discuss bilateral ties.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a strong strategic partnership and have lately agreed to enhance cooperation in diverse fields.
