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Saudi-Pak relations reach a new high in 2019

Motorcyclists pass by a banner in Lahore, welcoming Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Pakistan, Feb. 16, 2019. (AP/File photo)
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Updated 30 December 2019
SANA JAMAL
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Saudi-Pak relations reach a new high in 2019

  • Experts say Pakistan must navigate Middle East’s geopolitical sensitivities more carefully
  • The two countries must try to enhance the quantum of bilateral trade
Updated 30 December 2019
SANA JAMAL

ISLAMABAD: The relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, forged over several decades, hit a new high in 2019 as the two countries decided to capitalize on its economic and strategic dimensions.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Islamabad in February 2019 allowed the two allies to agree on a series of mega projects worth $20 billion, offering significant relief to Pakistan’s troubled economy.

Apart from that, the Saudi leader’s assertion that the people of Pakistan should consider him their ambassador the Kingdom won millions of hearts, making him one of the most popular international leaders in this country.

While many analysts have hailed the crown prince’s Pakistan visit as a high point in the history of the cordial relations between the two countries, some of them also believe that the best is yet to come in 2020.

Foreign policy and defense collaboration

Pakistan may not be a part of the Middle East, but it has strong linkages with the Islamic world, making it an important ally in the region. It has also expressed a strong desire to play the role of a mediator to help reduce tensions among various countries in the neighborhood, highlighting its vision of peace and harmony among Muslim nations.

According to Imtiaz Gul, a security analyst, “Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia have entered a new phase that is defined by both economic and strategic considerations.” He noted that the South Asian state was “struggling to fix its economy while maintaining balanced relations with all important countries,” though he added that it “must navigate the situation [in Middle East] carefully.”

“While forging new commercial relations, Pakistan should keep its own national interest above everything else,” he said. “This will require careful and smart diplomacy.”

Despite the diplomatic sensitivities in the region, Pakistan’s military has made significant contributions to the security of Gulf states since the 1960s. It has also participated in joint exercises with Saudi Arabia and trained the Kingdom’s soldiers.

Discussing potential avenues for military collaboration, defense expert Shahid Raza told Arab News: “Pakistan’s Al-Khalid 2 main battle tank program offers the two countries a bona fide defense collaboration opportunity, provided that Saudi Arabia funds the development.”

The armored tanks can offer Saudi ground forces a cheaper yet powerful alternative, he said.

“Secondly, Pakistan’s JF-17 Block III combat aircraft can greatly benefit the Saudi Air Force,” Raza noted. “The single-engine JF-17 fighter jet can pull off extreme maneuvers, perform three missions a day and is cheaper to operate.”

He also maintained that Pakistan’s small arms and light weapons industry provided yet another opportunity for collaboration, adding that Islamabad could provide modern infantry weapon to the Kingdom while Saudi Arabia could support the development or acquisition of such military technology.

Religious and cultural affinities

Despite the decades-old ties between the two nations, the connection of a common Pakistani with the Kingdom is religious in nature and tied to Hajj and Umrah. This explains why the Kingdom’s “Makkah route” initiative turned out to be a huge success in Pakistan this year.

The Saudi Vision 2030 program has tremendous potential to bring the two sides together and cooperate in the fields of culture, sports, entertainment and tourism. Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, during his recent visit to the Kingdom, called for enhanced collaboration in parliamentary affairs and trade.

Strategic ties and economic partnership

Home to over 2.6 million Pakistanis, Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with highest remittances to Pakistan. However, the bilateral trade between the two sides stands at $3.7 billion, which is minuscule compared to the Kingdom’s trade with India that reached about $27.4bn in 2018.

Political economist Shakeel Ahmad Ramay believes “the lack of market study and product diversification and reluctance to venture into new areas” by Pakistani business community are key reasons why the two sides have not realized their true trade potential.

He pointed out that Pakistan could benefit immensely from the business opportunities arising from the Saudi Vision 2030 program. “As Saudi Arabia has made sports a priority, Pakistan’s sports good industry can avail the opportunity,” Ramay continued. “For instance, football is the most popular game in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan produces top quality footballs.”

The Kingdom’s plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar would not only make it an important partner in $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor but also boost its access to world markets, he noted.

On the whole, analysts agree that the strong leadership, strategic vision and economic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have the potential not only to benefit the two countries but also the whole region.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia

In Karachi, a café where Ramadan means feeding anyone who arrives hungry

Updated 10 sec ago
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In Karachi, a café where Ramadan means feeding anyone who arrives hungry

  • Karachi’s Cafe Mehmood has offered free meals to the needy for nearly four decades
  • Restaurant owners say paying customers and charity diners receive the same quality food
Updated 10 sec ago
BURAQ SHABBIR

KARACHI: As the call to Maghrib prayer echoes through Karachi’s Sindhi Muslim Housing Society, long rows of people seated along a busy roadside begin to break their fast. Plates of fruit, samosas and glasses of the rose-flavored drink Rooh Afza move down the line as men, women and children share the evening meal after a long day of fasting in the city’s humid heat.

The gathering is a familiar Ramadan scene outside Cafe Mehmood, a modest restaurant in Pakistan’s largest city that has quietly sustained one of Karachi’s longest-running traditions of feeding the hungry.

Operating since the 1980s, the eatery is well known not only for its food but for a daily dastarkhwan, a communal meal spread laid out for anyone who arrives hungry. Donations collected from visitors and well-wishers help fund the initiative, allowing the restaurant to provide meals throughout the year to people who cannot afford to pay.

The tradition reflects a wider culture of charitable food distribution in Pakistan, particularly during Ramadan, when mosques, community groups and businesses organize iftar meals for fasting Muslims. In Karachi, a sprawling city of more than 20 million people, such initiatives often fill gaps in a fragile social safety net.

“Around 12,000 people come to this dastarkhwan daily and derive benefit from it,” said Imran Khan, the eldest son of one of the restaurant’s founders.

Pakistan, a country of more than 240 million people, has struggled with rising living costs in recent years following economic turmoil marked by inflation, currency depreciation and higher energy prices. For many families dependent on daily wages or informal employment, free community meals can provide an essential lifeline.

Cafe Mehmood’s story began in 1985, when three brothers opened the restaurant and named it after one of them, Mehmood. The charitable meals started modestly when the founders began serving food to a handful of people sitting on the footpath outside the restaurant.

Over time, word spread and more people began arriving. Donations from visitors and well-wishers helped expand the effort into a large-scale operation feeding thousands each day.

Communal meal spreads are common across Karachi, particularly during Ramadan, but the scale and schedule of the dastarkhwan outside Cafe Mehmood sets it apart.

“There are no specific [meal] timings,” Khan said. “It starts at seven in the morning and runs until 12 at midnight. During that period if anyone comes empty stomach, they are fed well.”

During Ramadan, however, the restaurant focuses its efforts on iftar and the meals that continue until the pre-dawn suhoor.

The service runs throughout the year, pausing only on three days annually: Eid Al-Fitr and the first two days of Eid Al-Adha. 

According to Khan, the restaurant prepares iftar for around 2,000 to 2,500 people each day, followed by dinner for roughly the same number.

To manage the demand, Cafe Mehmood operates a separate kitchen dedicated to preparing food for the charity meals. Inside the restaurant, customers who pay for their meals sit at tables, while outside, those who cannot afford to pay are served at long communal spreads laid out on the street.

Yet the owners say the difference is only in where the food is served, not in its quality.

“We make sure there is no compromise on quality while the taste, hygiene and service is similar to what we offer to our customers,” said Ismail Saeed, one of the founders’ grandsons who joined the family business five years ago.

Today, the restaurant and its charitable kitchen are run by the next generation: six members of the founding families and their nine sons.

Saeed said he had long wanted to take part in continuing the tradition.

“It has been a part of our genes since the beginning to help the needy, not just in terms of food but otherwise as well,” he said.

“We were provided with a platform through which we could do it, so I was always very keen about it.”

The charity meals are sustained through a combination of restaurant contributions and public donations. Visitors frequently stop by to give cash, while others transfer money online after learning about the initiative.

For those who cannot attend the communal meal spreads in person, the restaurant also distributes food parcels, particularly to women and people registered as deserving beneficiaries.

A typical meal served through the charity program includes chicken or beef gravy with two flatbreads, costing around Rs110 (about $0.39) per serving.

Despite its popularity, Cafe Mehmood historically avoided promoting its charitable work. For the family that runs the joint, the goal has remained simple: that no one who comes to their door leaves hungry.

“It was also the need of the hour,” Saeed said.

Topics: Pakistan Ramadan 2026 Karachi

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