ISLAMABAD: The foreign office of Pakistan on Saturday expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia after the release of a declassified United States intelligence report containing “assessment” of the Jamal Khashoggi murder case, saying that Islamabad recognized the kingdom’s efforts to bring his killers to justice.
A Saudi journalist, Khashoggi was murdered in October 2018 at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul where he had gone to complete paperwork related to his divorce.
In an official statement issued in Islamabad, the foreign office noted that the Saudi authorities had described the killing as an “abhorrent crime” and a “flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values.”
“The Saudi government has further underlined that it took all possible measures within its legal system to ensure that the individuals responsible were properly investigated, convicted and sentenced and that justice was served,” the statement continued.
“Pakistan underscores adherence to the rule of law, respect for national sovereignty, and protection and promotion of human rights by all States, in accordance with their respective Constitutional frameworks and international obligations,” it added.
Saudi Arabia has already rebuffed the contents of the report, saying that it “completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.”
Its foreign affairs ministry noted that people responsible for the killing had been convicted and sentenced in Saudi courts and that “these sentences were welcomed by the family of Jamal Khashoggi.”
