Islamabad Pakistan January 5 ANI Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep diplomatic and military ties but their relations have been strained in recent years after Islamabad refused a request by Riyadh to contribute troops to the Yemen war.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has angered the Saudi Arabians again. The Singapore Post said that demeanour and even sitting position can have an impact on diplomacy.
Qureshi received Ambassador Nawaf bin Said al-Malki in Islamabad, sitting with one leg crossed and the other in Al-Malki's direction.
The New Arab reported that this was deemed offensive by many Saudis who think Qureshi has 'insulted' their envoy.
Many Saudis took to social media to express their disapproval of the Pakistani FM's seating position, stating that his demeanour was ''the height of foolishness and ignorance''.
One user said one user sarcastically said that Pakistani foreign minister receives Saudi ambassador in Pakistan with unmatched hospitality.
This is the height of ina tone full of sarcasm, reported The Singapore Post. If there is no strong reason medical for the Pakistani foreign minister to receive the kingdom's ambassador in this way, then this is the height of impudence and foolishness and ignorance of the basics of diplomatic protocol.
There was no official word from either government. The Saudi Embassy posted a picture showing the two representatives of the brotherly countries discussing issues of mutual interests to their governments on social media. The photograph did not show Qureshi's legs and sitting posture.
This is not the first time that Qureshi has gotten into Saudi crosshairs. His diatribe in mid-2020 expressing disappointment'' at the failure of the Organisation of Islamic CooperationIslamic Cooperation OIC to host foreign ministers to discuss the Kashmir issue nearly touched off a diplomatic row.
The Saudis, who have deep ties with Pakistani Army Chief General Bajwa to Riyadh, demanded that Pakistan return the USD 3 billion lent to it earlier as an emergency loan, despite a damage control visit by Pakistani Army Chief General Bajwa to Riyadh. The concessional sale of petrol and gas was also called off, hurting the fledgling Pakistani economy, according to The Singapore Post.
For some reason, the Saudis suspected that Prime Minister Imran Khan was trying to change sides by getting closer to Turkey, which the Saudis and other Gulf nations view as a usurper.
Khan got cosy with President Erdogan and then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. When the Saudis cracked the whip, he refrained from attending a conference organized by Mahathir in Kuala Lumpur.
The Pew Research Center, a think tank based in Washington, has shown that although Saudi-Pak relations are brotherly and Pakistan's ties with China are iron brothers, the people of these countries do not necessarily hold the Pakistanis in high esteem.
The donor-donee relationship cuts across all the high-sounding sentiments and diplomatic words, according to The Singapore Post.