As a result of Pakistan’s ongoing mediatory efforts between Saudi Arabia and Iran spearheaded by President Asif Ali Zardari, tensions in relations between the two important Muslim countries have reduced to some extent and both sides have showed an inclination towards bilateral engagement, though in a clandestine manner.
Saudi Arabia blames Iran for certain initiatives to destabilise the Gulf region in hope of expanding its sphere of influence. Saudi authorities say Iranians have been backing Bahraini Shias in order to foment unrest in the country that is ruled by a Sunni monarch, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.
Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Iranians and Saudis have been at odds and they have sparred on many fronts such as Iraq and Lebanon, but the world sees the current unrest in Bahrain as a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran for regional supremacy. It is by sending troops to help the Bahraini government control the anti-government protesters that Saudi Arabia has actually barred Iran’s bid to bring Bahrain into the ambit of its influence.
Perturbed over the unrest in Bahrain and the rest of the Arab world, especially the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Pakistan has been engaged in hectic efforts to improve ties between the two important Islamic states for the last two months.
President Zardari visited Saudi Arabia and met Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah on Wednesday with officials here saying the Iran-Saudi Arabia stand-off was at the top of his agenda along with the current situation in Afghanistan, in particular reconciliation efforts with the Taliban. “Pakistan is trying its best to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran to the level that existed before Riyadh’s decision to send its troops to Bahrain. Once that objective is achieved, the two sides could sit together and sort out their differences on their own,” said a Pakistani diplomat here on Thursday, asking not to be named. He said President Zardari had assigned a special task to Interior Minister Rehman Malik to shuttle between Riyadh and Tehran as a Pakistani envoy to decrease tensions between the two states and he would continue with his visits to both capitals in the days to come. Another Pakistani official here also confirmed that as a brotherly Muslim nation, Pakistan was trying its best to normalise ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran and as a result of these efforts, both states had showed willingness to hold bilateral talks but in a clandestine manner.
Noted analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi told Pakistan Today that as a friendly state, Islamabad could advise Iran and Saudi Arabia to improve their relations and work for an end to their differences. Shaiq Hussain