ISLAMABAD – Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has confirmed that Saudi Arabia had offered one of the big financial packages for the shaky economy of Pakistan without any condition.
Talking to a private news channel in current affairs programme, the foreign minister, who accompanied Prime Minister Imran Khan during his successful visit to the kingdom, said that the bailout package would help control the widening current account deficit and balance of payments.
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He rejected the notion that former chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif, who heads the Saudi coalition forces, had played any role in the deal with Saudi Arabia.
“How did Pakistan manage to secure the financial deal?” Hamid Mir asked during the programme, to which Qureshi said: “By the grace of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), I believe”.
There was no discussion about the Sharif family, who is facing accountability in various corruption cases, with Saudi officials during the visit, he said.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday asked the government to take the nation into confidence about the terms and conditions on which the kingdom had agreed to give financial assistance to Pakistan.
Mediator Role In Yemen Crisis
The foreign minister, earlier talking to media, asserted the stance of PM Khan about the Yemen crisis, stating that Pakistan did not believe in a military solution to the issue.
Addressing the nation, the premier on Wednesday said he will try to get Muslim countries together, besides acting as a “mediator” in the resolution of conflicts between Muslim countries. “We are trying our best to act as a mediator to resolve the Yemen crisis,” he said.
Over the statement of the prime minister, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb criticised Khan for not detailing the conditions on which Saudi Arabia had agreed to allow Pakistan to play a role for settling the conflict with Yemen.
Qureshi clarified that there has been no change in Pakistan’s role in the Saudi-led military coalition. He added that Pakistan will not send its forces to Yemen.
