KUALA LUMPUR: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that Saudi Arabia pressured Pakistan not to attend a summit for Muslim leaders in Malaysia this week, adding it was not the first time that Riyadh had threatened Islamabad.
According to media reports, regarding the absence of Pakistan and Indonesia at the summit, the president said he would have liked to have seen them present as well.
When it comes to Saudi Arabia’s and United Arab Emirates (UAE) effect in this absence, Erdogan stated that this is not a first for the countries since they have the tendency to put pressure on other countries in doing or not doing things.
“Unfortunately, we see that Saudi Arabia pressures Pakistan. Now, there are promises that the country has given to Pakistan regarding the central bank. However, more than that, there are 4 million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia. They (threaten by saying that they) would send (Pakistanis) back and re-employ Bangladeshi people instead,” Erdogan said, adding that the kingdom has also used similar threatening tactics regarding the central bank case by claiming that they would withdraw their money.
Erdogan further said that due to its economic difficulties, Pakistan had to obey such threats, while implying that Indonesia has also suffered from similar problems.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had cancelled the visit after being summoned to Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Visit News Source webpage Abb Takk