ISLAMABAD: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday (today) with a ‘special message’ from the crown prince amid simmering tensions between India and Pakistan.
Al Jubeir was scheduled to land in Pakistan on Friday but according to the amended schedule, he was likely to visit India first, a private TV channel reported.
The visiting dignitary will be carrying an important message from Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman aimed at de-escalating the rising tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had on Thursday revealed that Al Jubeir was due in Islamabad. “Last night I also spoke to the Saudi foreign minister, and he expressed his desire to visit Pakistan, which I fully supported,” the foreign minister had said.
During his two-day stay, Al Jubeir will discuss the rising Indo-Pak tensions with his Pakistani counterpart. He is also expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit.
Tensions between the nuclear-rivals rose to an all-time high following Indian incursions into Pakistani airspace and subsequent downing of two Indian aircraft by the Pakistan Air Force as well as capture of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Pakistan, however, Friday released the captured pilot as a ‘gesture of peace’.
