ISLAMABAD: The ruling coalition and PTI clashed over the postponement of the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to Pakistan.
The spat started on Sunday with Defense Minister Khawaja Asif’s statement claiming that MBS’s visit to Pakistan has been postponed due to PTI’s long march towards Islamabad.
Taking to Twitter, Asif said: “Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan was canceled due to Imran Khan’s first sit-in seven years ago and now Saudi Crown Prince’s visit has been postponed due to the announcement of sit-in on November 21. has been given. “
“This person is working on an agenda against the country.”
عمران خان نے پہلے دھرنے پہ7 سال قبل چینی صدر کا دورہ کینسل کروایا تھااب21 نومبر والے دھرنے کے اعلان سےسعودی عرب کے ولیعہد اور وزیراعظم کا دورہ ملتوی.IK سواۓ اپنے مفادات کے علاوہ کوئ سوچ نہیں رکھتا.ملک و قوم کے مفادات کے کوئی معنی نہیں.یہ شخص ملک کیخلاف ایجنڈا پہ کام کر رہا ھے
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) November 12, 2022
The much-anticipated visit of the Saudi crown prince to Pakistan has been postponed, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed last week, saying a later date would be decided mutually.
However, when contacted by The News, the Foreign Office refused to comment on the defense minister’s remarks.
After this, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry got into a spat with Asif on Twitter over the issue
“The first thing is that Khawaja Asif is the defense minister of Pakistan but he is so morally low that he feels no problem in telling lies. Mohammed bin Salman has postponed his visit not only to Pakistan but to the whole of Asia,” he said in a tweet.
پہلی بات تو یہ ہے کہ یہ پاکستان کا اہم وزیر ہے اور اس کی اخلاقی حالت یہ ہے کہ انھیں جھوٹ بولتے ذرا بھی مسئلہ نہیں، محمد بن سلمان نے ایشیاء کا دورہ ملتوی کیا ہے صرف پاکستان کا دورہ ملتوی نہیں کیا، https://t.co/Y7UqE9V4GV
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 13, 2022
In another tweet, he said: “Another fact is that analysts in other countries are advising their rulers that the treatment of the current rulers in Pakistan will show their indifference to the people of Pakistan.”
Therefore, any leader interested in a long-term relationship with Pakistan will keep his distance from the current rulers.
دوسری حقیقت یہ ہے کہ دوسرے ممالک کے تجزیہ کار اپنے حکمرانوں کو رائے دے رہے ہیں اور ان کا تجزیہ یہ ہے کہ موجودہ حکمرانوں سے تعلق پاکستان کے عوام سے لاتعلقی کا اظہار ہو گا لہذاٰ کوئ بھی ملک جسے پاکستان سے لانگ ٹرم تعلقات میں دلچسپی ہے وہ موجودہ حکمرانوں سے فاصلہ رکھے گا
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 13, 2022
Meanwhile, senior PPP senator Farhatullah Babar tweeted: “Saudi crown prince’s visit postponed is a momentary concern. Is there any similarity with the postponement of President Xi’s scheduled visit to Pakistan in 2014?”
Postponement of visit of Saudi Crown Prince is a moment of reflection. Are there parallels with the postponement of President Xi scheduled visit to Pakistan in 2014?
— Farhatullah Babar (@FarhatullahB) November 13, 2022
Prince Salman was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on a two-day visit on November 21, but the visit has not been officially announced by Riyadh or Islamabad.
However, the diplomats did not deny the reports in the media about the Saudi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan. Even, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had remarked after his recent meeting with Prince Salman that he was looking forward to the King’s visit.
Initially, news of the postponement of the Saudi prince’s visit was reported by New Delhi media on Saturday afternoon but the Indian Ministry of External Affairs did not comment on it.
Later, they said it was due to “rescheduling” issues. Like Pakistan, Delhi had not officially announced the king’s visit.
Apart from Pakistan and India, Prince Salman was scheduled to visit Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.
When The News contacted the Foreign Office spokesperson, he confirmed that the visit has been postponed while a new date will be announced later.
After much discussion between Riyadh and Islamabad, around 7pm on Saturday, a government official told The News: “We will issue a coordinated announcement soon”.
However, no agreement could be reached and a joint statement was not issued. On Sunday, when The News contacted the same official, he was told “not today”, despite the fact that Sunday is a working day in Saudi Arabia.
