ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has played down differences with longtime ally Saudi Arabia after country's army chief visited Riyadh. "The rumours that our relations with Saudi Arabia have soured are totally false," Khan said in the interview with the private television channel. "Our relations are very good. We are constantly in touch."
"Army chief travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a one-day visit that was "primarily military-affairs oriented", the army said.
But top military and government officials said the visit was aimed at calming the simmering standoff that could badly hurt cash-strapped Pakistan's foreign reserves.
Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018. Pakistan's demands for Saudi Arabia to support it against India over Kashmir led to Saudi Arabia forcing Pakistan to pay back $1 billion early, military and finance ministry officials have told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is also demanding repayment of another $1 billion of the loan and has not responded to Pakistani requests to extend the oil facility, they said. The Saudi government has not commented on the matter.
The Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has only held low-level meetings on Kashmir, to the frustration of some who want to see a more robust position.
"On the Kashmir issue, there is a view that OIC should have stepped forward," Khan said.
"Saudi has its own foreign policy. We shouldn't think that because we want something Saudi will do just that," he added. Analysts say Saudi Arabia does not want to risk its business interests in India for supporting Pakistan over Kashmir.
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