Saudi worried about Pakistan, wants leaders united against terror

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia is worried about the current situation in Pakistan and wants to see the political leadership in that country to be united in the fight against extremism, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said Sunday.

“Pakistan is a friendly country to us. Therefore, anytime one sees a dangerous trend in a friendly country, one is not only sorry but worried,” Saudi minister said while addressing the visiting Indian media accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his historic three-day visit to this Gulf nation that started Saturday.

The minister interacted with the media shortly after nearly an hour-long meeting with Manmohan Singh.

He said Saudi Arabia believed that it was the duty of the political leaders of Pakistan to unite and see to it that extremism did not find its way again into the country.

“This can only happen by a united political leadership in Pakistan and we hope that this work will be achieved,” he said.

Asked about Saudi Arabia’s position vis–vis the Al Qaeda-Taliban ties, the Saudi minister said there was no relation between his country and the Taliban.

“As you know, there is no relation between Saudi Arabia and Taliban. The relation deteriorated between the two sides because Taliban gave sanctuary to Al Qaeda,” he said.

“And since that time until today, there has been no relationship between Taliban and Saudi Arabia. That indicates what seriousness we give to that issue.”

On the visit of the Indian prime minister, he said ever since the visit of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to India in 2006, the relations between the two countries have moved in manifold ways.

“We are moving towards a strategic cooperation between our two countries,” the minister said.

“It is no small thing to talk about strategic cooperation between two countries. In order to do that, you need to have confidence, you need to have a clear understanding of common interests, and you have to understand that together we can achieve what is good for our people,” he said.