FM Qureshi hopeful Saudi Arabia, UAE won't disappoint Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stand by Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the Saudi and UAE counterparts, he said: “We hope that they [the two countries] won’t disappoint us.”

Qureshi said he brought home to the ministers the crisis in India-held Jammu and Kashmir. They listened to our standpoint, he added.

He said a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Contact Group on the Kashmir issue will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session scheduled later this month.

The foreign minister said they want the OIC to play a prominent role in regards to the Kashmir issue.

He said the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s support is vital for convening a formal meeting of the OIC.

Qureshi reiterated that India’s Aug 5 decision of abrogating the disputed territory’s special status is illegal.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad today on a daylong official visit.

They were received by FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi at Noor Khan Airbase.

Later, they were driven to the Foreign Office where they held talks on bilateral, regional and international issues with FM Qureshi.