NA speaker holds wide-ranging talks with King Salman

ISLAMABAD: King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz while talking to the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar has stressed that the Muslim Ummah needs to raise issues like Kashmir at the platform of the OIC.

According to a message received from Riyadh, the Speaker met King Salman at the Royal Palace and briefed him on the plight of Muslims in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, who continue to face oppression from the Indian armed forces. He also raised the issue of the discrimination meted out to the Muslims in India under the new citizenship law. King Salman said that the Muslim countries needed to discuss these developments at the OIC platform. He said the Kingdom supported the position expounded by the OIC on Kashmir, as well as the relevant international resolutions on the Kashmir dispute.

The NA Speaker also met the Chairman of the Majlis-e-Shura and discussed inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. A MoU on inter-parliamentary cooperation was also signed between the two sides. The NA Speaker was accompanied by three members of the National Assembly. The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom and Chairman of the Majlis-e-Shura also attended the meeting.

King Salman warmly welcomed the Speaker and his delegation to the Kingdom. He recalled the close and fraternal ties between the two countries, and termed Pakistan a true friend of the Kingdom. He hoped that frequent exchange of parliamentary delegations will not only enhance the relations between the two parliaments but will also strengthen affinity and solidarity between the people of the two countries. The King acknowledged the positive contribution made by Pakistanis towards development and progress of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The NA Speaker thanked the King for his hospitality and conveyed warm wishes to him on behalf of Pakistan’s leadership. He said that Pakistan and its people had always accorded respect to the Saudi leadership, in particular for their custodianship of the Two Holy Mosques. He appreciated the steps taken by the King for the welfare and facilitation of the pilgrims to Makkah and Medina.