RAWALPINDI: Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has assured the Saudi ambassador that Pakistan Army holds defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) at a par with its own.
“The Pakistan Army holds defence of the KSA at par with its own,” General Qamar told Saudi Envoy to Pakistan Abdullah Marzouk Al-Zahrani, who met the army chief at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Friday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
According to the statement, “issues of bilateral relations including defence and training cooperation” were the focus of discussion between the two sides.
The army chief reassured the ambassador that the Pakistan Army regarded the defence of Saudi Arabia in the same way as Pakistan’s.
Gen Bajwa, who became the army chief in November last year, had gone on a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia in December.
In his meeting with Saudi deputy crown prince and defence minister Muhammad bin Salman, the army chief had “reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the security and protection of the holy mosques and also the territorial integrity of the kingdom”.
The defence minister had reassured Gen Bajwa that his country supported peace and stability in Pakistan in every way.
The army chief had also called on Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
They acknowledged that both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were vital players in regional stability “with significant responsibility towards the entire Muslim ummah”.
The Saudi king and Gen Bawja emphasised the need to continue working to eliminate the menace of terrorism and reinforce the mechanism to roll back extremism with even greater vigour.
He had also met Chief of General Staff of Saudi Forces Gen Abdul Rehman bin Saleh Al Bunyan and discussed military-to-military relations, defence cooperation and regional security situation.