ISLAMABAD: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has said the kingdom was willing to mediate to set up talks between India and Pakistan, but the timing would be up to the arch-foes to decide.
The statement came during an interview to India’s The Hindu newspaper while the Saudi foreign minister was on a two-day visit to New Delhi.
India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors, both control parts of the disputed region of Kashmir but claim it in full. In 2019, India withdrew Indian-administered Kashmir’s autonomy in order to tighten its grip over the territory, sparking outrage in Pakistan, the downgrading of diplomatic ties and the suspension of bilateral trade.
Pakistan’s government has repeatedly said India would have to first reverse its 2019 steps for any normalization process to begin.
Responding to a question about whether Saudi Arabia was disappointed that talks had not restarted between Pakistan and India, Prince Farhan said:
“We will always provide our good offices when we can, but it’s up to India and Pakistan to decide when the time is right.”
He said as Kashmir continued to remain a dispute between the two countries, “we would encourage [is] that there should be a focus on a path of dialogue and discussion among India and Pakistan to resolve these issues in a way that can settle these concerns permanently.”
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. Pakistan accuses India of rights violations in Kashmir, and India says Pakistan supports militants in its part of the region. Both deny the charges.
In February this year, the militaries of India and Pakistan said in a rare joint statement that they had agreed to observe a cease-fire along the border in Kashmir, after exchanging fire hundreds of times in recent months.
In April, the United Arab Emirates’ envoy to Washington confirmed the Gulf state was mediating between India and Pakistan to help the rivals reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.
Saudi Arabia says always ready to mediate talks but timing up to India, Pakistan
https://arab.news/nm93y
Saudi Arabia says always ready to mediate talks but timing up to India, Pakistan
- The statement comes in an interview during Saudi foreign minister’s visit to New Delhi
- Says wants Pakistan and India to “focus on path of dialogue,” settle concerns “permanently”
Two killed in suicide blast targeting security forces in Pakistan’s northwest
- Multiple people were injured in the attack in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- It comes days after militants rammed explosive-laden vehicle into checkpost, killing 12 people
ISLAMABAD: Two security personnel, including an officer, were killed, while multiple others sustained injuries when a suicide blast targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said.
The suicide bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into an armored vehicle of security forces in Sara Darga area of KP’s Bannu district, according to a local police official who requested anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out similar assaults in the region in past.
“The attack had damaged the armored vehicle, causing deaths and injuries,” he told Arab News, adding that they suspected the Pakistani Taliban to be behind the attack.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the TTP, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpost jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
