Welcome but funding to Salafist extremists must be blocked
After a cooling off of relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during the PPP era, attempts are afoot to bring back the traditional warmth. While on a private visit to the Kingdom two months after being sworn in as prime minister, Nawaz Sharif called on Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz within hours of his landing on the airport. Early this month Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal paid a visit to Pakistan. This was the first high-level visit to the country by a Saudi leader in six years. Nawaz Sharif and the Saudi leader jointly called for starting a new era and further deepening the bilateral strategic partnership. Later at a media conference Saud Al Faisal confirmed that the regional and international aspect had dominated the agenda of the visit. Subsequently a 17-member Saudi defence delegation visited Pakistan on a three-day exploratory trip for identifying areas of cooperation.
The Pak-Saudi ties have benefitted both countries. Partnership with Pakistan, a non-Arab Muslim state, has been historically viewed by successive Saudi monarchs as being helpful in maintaining Saudi hegemony in the Arab world and dealing with internal security challenges. In the 1970s, relations with Pakistan gave credibility to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to undermine Arab nationalism and promote Islamic cooperation. Pakistani engineers, technicians and workers have contributed to the creation and maintenance of a modern infrastructure in the Kingdom. Thousands of Pakistani doctors help in running Saudi medical facilities. In return Pakistan gets a considerable amount of remittances from the Kingdom. Pakistani military assistance is seen by the Saudis as reliable, subservient, less controversial and cheaper than assistance from other sources. Above all, it is purely contractual and lacks the political strings that are often attached to military assistance.
As far as Pakistan is concerned the relations also have had a flip side. Huge amounts of funds originating from Saudi Arabia have led to the mushrooming of Salafi madrassas that are alleged to be spreading extremist ideas and promoting sectarianism. The Saudi rivalry with Iran has led sectarian extremists to target the Shia community in Pakistan. A country which is already under attack from numerous militant groups cannot allow the blood-shedding any more.
While improvement of Pak Saudi ties is welcome, Pakistan needs to ask the Saudi government to assist in blocking the funding to extremist outfits involved in terrorist acts. As far as the Kingdom’s disputes with Iran are concerned, Pakistan has to walk a fine line as it is paramount to have good relations with both the countries. Islamabad should do whatever it can to reduce their differences without ever becoming a party to the dispute. Saudi Arabia may be seeking Pakistani security assistance for domestic rather than any external threat. Islamabad needs to ensure that whatever Pakistani manpower is sent to the Kingdom is not used for the suppression of any section of the local population.
