Saudi Foreign Minister likely to bring up Indo-Pak tensions during Pakistan visit

Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, said to be carrying a "special message" from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, arrived here on Thursday as part of the global efforts to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India, according to media reports. According to Pakistan Foreign Office, Al-Jubeir will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The Saudi state minister, who was earlier supposed to visit Pakistan on March 1 but it was delayed due to heightened tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, the Express Tribune reported. The minister is expected to discuss the regional situation following mounting tension between Pakistan and India over the past two weeks after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the report said.

Countries like the US, the UK, China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were involved in easing tensions between India and Pakistan. While announcing the Saudi minister's visit, Foreign Minister Qureshi Wednesday said that the Saudi envoy is coming to Pakistan with a "special message" from Crown Prince Mohammad.

Al-Jubeir's visit comes after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed's stand-alone visits to Pakistan and India soon after the Pulwama terror attack. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 and captured its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India on March 1.