Daily Times

The disagreements between Muslims nations were weakening the Islamic fraternity, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday during an interview with an Arab media outlet.

Speaking to Arabiya TV, Khan commented on how Pakistan wishes to play a role in helping eliminate the tensions in the Muslim world and focus on building understanding between the states.

The premier said Pakistan desires to play the role of a mediator in the Middle East and was willing to play a positive part in ending the Yemen conflict. No one can provide a better expert opinion on terrorism-related matters than Islamabad, Khan said.

He stressed that countries of the Islamic world should not have any differences, noting that Pakistan had already been deeply affected by the tensions between Afghanistan and various other countries.

Khan also vowed to stand strong by Saudi Arabia, mentioning that the Kingdom has always helped Pakistan out of tight spots in the past. Islamabad, therefore, will always continue to stay by the side of and support Riyadh.

Pakistan “always stands by Saudi Arabia,” especially against the attacks from Houthi rebels, the PM told Arabiya TV during his maiden visit to the Kingdom. “Saudi Arabia helped Pakistan when Pakistan needed help,” he added, according to tweets from the Saudi-based network.

The Pakistani head-of-state also talked about the strong people-to-people relations between the two nations, saying people of his motherland held Saudi Arabia in high respect.

Khan also praised the young Saudi Arabian leadership, saying the Kingdom’s anti-corruption campaign was admirable. Pakistan needs to do exactly what Riyadh had implemented to rid itself of corruption.

Ever since he assumed power back in August 2018, the PM continued, he has not taken a day off because he was dealing with existing problems. Due to that, coupled with various other local crises, Khan said he was not supposed to travel abroad for three months but only managed to make an exception for Saudi Arabia since the King Salman bin Abdulaziz had extended an invitation and also, as a Muslim, one should visit Makkah and Medina.

The premier also explained that once he was able to fix the governance issues in Pakistan, it would be easier to spend time with his family.

With regard to the countries that Pakistan shares borders with, Khan commented that Iran was “our neighbour” and that “we should surely have good relations with all neighbours”.

The PM underscored his belief that conflicts have political solutions and that he was not in favour of military resolutions. He added that he wished for Pakistan to have good relations with Afghanistan and India based on mutual trust.

Khan noted that he would strengthen state institutions of Pakistan and that no individual was above the institutions.

Published in Daily Times, September 21^st 2018.