Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Sunni and Shiite shoulders of Islam, refused to allow Pakistani missions to hold public events to observe the October 27 anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India as a Black Day, a deviation from previous years pointing to Pakistan’s changing equations. in western Asia.
People familiar with the matter said that the Pakistani embassy in Iran had proposed an event at the University of Tehran to observe what it has called a Black Day. But Tehran surprised Islamabad when it communicated its refusal to allow the event. Later, the embassy settled for a webinar, clearly a sign of the Imran Khan government’s growing despair at failing to garner support for India’s repeal of Article 370 in Kashmir.
Islamabad’s plans to hold a public event inside the Pakistani consulate in Riyadh were also blocked by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
People familiar with the matter said the change in stance taken by two influential Islamic countries is a reflection of Pakistan’s equations in the Middle East, largely a consequence of its growing association with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is trying to establish the prominence of Turkey in the Middle. East. Much like the Ottoman empire that ruled the region for 500 years before being rejected.
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Pakistan’s proximity to Turkey was on display earlier this month at the Financial Action Task Force plenary session, when Ankara was the only one of 39 members to push hard to keep Islamabad off the agency’s ‘gray list’. global control of terrorist financing despite its uneven track record. .
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Erdogan of Turkey have teamed up to form a radical new Islamic axis in opposition to the established Sunni order led by Saudi Arabia and the Shiite order led by Iran.
The two countries of the radical axis, Malaysia, which under Mahathir Mohammed was part of this new axis, has now taken a back seat, also made public their opposition to the United Arab Emirates establishing full diplomatic relations with Israel. Pakistan’s statement was very silent, given that it is still in the process of changing sides, but Erdogan’s first reaction was a shot from the bow. He threatened to sever relations with the United Arab Emirates.
But the newly created association has its downsides. Riyadh’s refusal to allow the Kashmir event was one. Saudi Arabia’s decision earlier this year to require Islamabad to immediately repay a $ 3 billion loan after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tried to embarrass the royal kingdom into holding a meeting at the level ministerial to discuss the revocation of article 370, was another. Analysts believe Imran Khan had bitten off more than he could chew and eventually had to send army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to calm down in Riyadh. General Bajwa failed to secure the meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which Islamabad had hoped for, but is believed to have helped to disguise deep cracks in the relationship.
Analysts suggest that Turkey’s Erdogan, who is seen as aspiration to a leadership role in the Islamic world, may also have outgrown his weight. Turkey has its soldiers fighting in Iraq, Syria and Libya, establishing a garrison in Qatar, an overseas base in the Somali capital Mogadishu, and is seen as challenging the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen.
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