Riyadh. Tension has increased between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan amid the ongoing war between America, Israel and Iran. Reports show that Saudi Arabia is angry with Pakistan and on its invitation, Pakistani PM Shahbaz Sharif reached Jeddah. On Thursday, Shahbaz met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Before this, last week Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir also went to Saudi.
It is being told that these meetings may create problems for the relations between Pakistan and Iran, because Riyadh has sought active support from Islamabad to stop Iranian attacks. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had made a historic agreement last year, according to which an attack on one country would be considered an attack on the other. In response to the US-Israeli attack, Iran is continuously firing missiles and drones at Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia.
According to media reports, Riyadh says that now is the time when Pakistan should join hands with Saudi to stop Iranian attacks under the agreement. After meeting the Crown Prince, PM Shahbaz’s spokesperson Musharraf Zaidi said that PM Shahbaz expressed Pakistan’s solidarity and support towards Saudi Arabia in these difficult times. During the meeting, Sharif assured MBS that Pakistan will always stand firmly with Saudi Arabia.
Only last week, Saudi Defense Minister had met Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir. In this meeting, both sides talked about Iran’s recent attacks and ways to respond to them under their joint strategic defense agreement.
America and Israel launched a major attack against Iran on February 28, after which a large-scale war broke out in the region. On Friday, America attacked Kharg Island, which is called the economic backbone of Iran. Trump informed about this attack. Meanwhile, America has decided to deploy additional marine troops and warships. The US is sending a Marine Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the area along with the ship USS Tripoli. An American defense official was quoted as saying that about 2,500 marines and 2,500 sailors will be involved in this deployment.