Saudi Arabia has stopped the loan and related oil supplies to Pakistan due to the demand from the Imran Khan Government to break the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) over Kashmir.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Quresh also sought to sever the OIC because the association failed to convene a Kashmir stand-alone conference.
The loan plan enclosed a clause in which Saudi Arabia issued $3.2 billion worth of oil for Pakistan, a year on future compensation.
Pakistan had to repay a $1 billion Saudi loan after Pakistan insisted on leading OIC on the question of Kashmir.
The provision intended for Islamabad ended two months ago and has not been extended by Riyadh, according to Pakistani media reports. However, Islamabad has repaid $1 billion of Saudi loans prematurely, four months before repayment date.
Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi recently indicated through a news program talk show, that if the OIC headed by Saudi Arabia did not convene a conference of foreign ministers in Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave him alone with his allies in the Islamic countries.
On Ary news channel, Mehmood Qureshi stated “If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir.”
The OIC, the biggest bloc of Islamic countries in the country, has repeatedly rejected the many demands from Islamabad to stage a conference on Indian Kashmir. Riyadh defends New Delhi’s stance that Kashmir is their home case. Pakistan ‘s position is strengthened by Turkey that wants to challenge Saudi Arabia’s
leadership in the Islamic world.
Several other OIC countries did not react to Pakistan ‘s initiative led by its Permanent Representative (PR) to the UN. Ironically, the move by the UAE to back India had attracted a outcry from social media centered in Pakistan.
Riyadh’s displeasure at Islamabad’s similarity to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition to replace Saudi Arabia as the head of all Sunni Islamic countries was one of the main reasons for OIC’s loss of support for Pakistan.