Saudi Arabia ready to mediate between Pakistan, India

Saudi Arabia has offered to mediate between Pakistan and India in an attempt to reduce long-running tensions between the two nuclear neighbours, according to a statement by Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

Talking to Indian media, The Saudi FM  said that it is our desire that Pakistan and India should resolve all their disputes, including the Kashmir issue, through dialogue, and further offered Saudi Arabia’s “good offices” for any talks between Pakistan and India.

Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud said that there should be a focus on the path of dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve issues in a way that can settle concerns permanently.

He said that Kashmir is an issue that continues to be a dispute between two countries and therefore what we would encourage is that there should be a focus on a path of dialogue and discussion among Pakistan and India to resolve these issues in a way that can settle these concerns permanently.

The Hindu interviewer noted that one of the issues between India and the Kingdom were statements by the Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding occupied Kashmir, the status of Indian Muslims and communal violence.

When asked whether he had discussed this in a meeting with his Indian counterpart, the Saudi minister said that these were “domestic issues”.

“It is up to the people of India and to the government of India to address these concerns. And we would, of course, always support any initiatives in this regard that the Indian government takes, but from our perspective, it’s a domestic affair,” he said.

Commenting on occupied Kashmir, he said that it was an issue that “continues to be a dispute” between the two countries.

“Therefore, what we would encourage is that there should be a focus on a path of dialogue and discussion among India and Pakistan to resolve these issues in a way that can settle these concerns permanently,” he said.

Talking about the Taliban government in Afghanistan, he said that the new leadership had a responsibility to “exercise good judgment and good governance, to be inclusive, to bring in all people in Afghanistan, and to forge a path that can lead to stability, security and prosperity” while also accounting for the concerns of the international community.

He also called for providing aid and assistance to the war-torn country. “I think international aid is directed primarily for the benefit of the Afghan people and, therefore, our position is that aid should continue and should not be affected by these situations,” he said in the interview.

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