Islamabad, August 12: The King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about Pakistan, according to Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. He was briefing his ministerial colleagues on Wednesday about his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and meeting with the monarch.
Mr. Gilani quoted the King as telling him that he had spoken to the Indian Prime Minister and the Afghanistan President, and both were “positively inclined to live in peace with Pakistan”. The Prime Minister did not offer details as per what was released to the media about the Prime Minister’s opening statement to the Cabinet.
When this conversation took place is not clear as the last time Dr. Singh met the King was in early 2010 during a visit to Saudi Arabia before India and Pakistan decided to resume the stalled dialogue process in Bhutan in April last year.
Increasingly, the Pakistani leadership has been speaking about India and Afghanistan in the same breath as Islamabad seeks to reach out to two immediate neighbours with which it has had historically troubled relationships.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar underlined this while briefing the National Assembly about her India visit. “The government has made a special effort since coming to power to reach out to all our neighbours, especially those with whom we have had some difficulties. This policy is reflected in our outreach with Afghanistan and India.”
—Agencies