Saudi Arabia always supports Pakistan & its people through thick & thin: PM Shehbaz
TAUNSA SHARIF, Nov 22 (SABAH): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that Saudi Arabia had always supported Pakistan and its people through thick and thin.
The prime minister’s appreciation about the friendly country’s support came a day after PTI founder’s spouse Bushra Bibi’s video message (about Imran Khan’s Medina visit and alleged calls from foreign authorities to Bajwa) went viral.
Addressing the ceremony of Kachhi Canal revival, the prime minister, without naming Bushra Bibi, went all lengths explaining the supportive role Saudi Arabia had all along played for Pakistan “without asking for anything in return”.
Therefore, he made it clear, the comment made yesterday (on Thursday) was the biggest example of “anti-Pakistan sentiment”. He hastened to add that the nation would always reject the elements who caused mistrust in the relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Referring to the canal project, he said that during the tenure of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, it was ignored. It’s the PML-N government, he said, which completed the project when it came to power in 2008. “And the credit for that goes to Nawaz Sharif”. The premier said the 2022 flood wreaked havoc on the canal which required reconstruction and after that tragedy, Ahsan Iqbal and the Wapda chief spearheaded the efforts to reconstruct the canal.
Yesterday, PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi’s allegation about Saudi Arabia’s role in the PTI government’s ouster raised eyebrows. Bushra Bibi claimed on Thursday that after Imran Khan returned barefoot from Medina, “calls began pouring in for retired Gen Bajwa, questioning the choice of bringing him into leadership.”
In a video message posted on X, Bushra Bibi said former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was told, “Who have you brought? We don’t want such individuals. We are working to end Shariah, and you have brought someone advocating for it.” She added that since then, baseless propaganda was launched against them, including accusations against her and labelling Imran Khan a “Jewish agent”.