Saudi Arabia rejects Pakistan's demand for urgent OIC meet on Kashmir

Saudi Arabia has turned down Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s demand for an urgent, standalone meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Kashmir.

According to an Economic Times report, Saudi Arabia was reluctant to carry out these talks as the OIC would be busy with preparations for the Senior Officials Meeting to be held in Jeddah as part of the Council of Foreign Ministers meet on February 9.

The report noted that OIC members met after the abrogation of Article 370 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. However, there has been no independent meet to just discuss Kashmir.

The report also noted that the Imran Khan government had unsuccessfully tried to get Saudi Arabia's backing for the urgent Kashmir meet when its Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan had come to Pakistan.

The report noted that Pakistan has been making these efforts because Riyadh's approval is an accepted prerequisite for any OIC move.

The report also noted that  Khan vented his frustration over the matter at a recent visit to Malaysia. “We have no voice; we are divided. We can’t even agree to hold an OIC meeting on Kashmir,” said Khan.

While, Saudi continues to be neutral on the matter, the report also noted that the UAE's stance on abrogation of Article 370 was an “internal matter”of India.