Pakistan categorically rejected claims that alleged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman snubbed PM Imran Khan after his meetings with Turkish and Malaysian leaders in New York.
The editorial in Friday Times claimed that the prince was so alienated by Khan’s diplomacy at UN General Assembly that he “snubbed Imran by ordering his private jet to disembowel the Pakistani delegation”.
“Inexplicably, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, was so alienated by some dimensions of the Pakistani prime minister’s diplomacy in New York – he couldn’t have been happy at the prospect of Imran Khan, Recip Tayyib Erdogan and Mahathir Mohammad planning to jointly represent the Islamic bloc, nor with Pakistan’s interlocution with Iran without his explicit approval — that he visibly snubbed Imran by ordering his private jet to disembowel the Pakistani delegation,” the article alleged.
However, the government said that it was” totally false [report] and absolutely carries no truth whatsoever”. The report also carried “baseless self-created theory with respect to the premier’s meetings with the leaders of Turkey and Malaysia in New York”.
The government spokesman clarified that Islamabad and Riyadh enjoyed ‘most cordial and brotherly relations’. “Only people with vested interests would come up with such concocted and baseless assertions,” he added.
Bringing opposition politicians into the equation, the spokesperson said that “desperation of the opposition is evident by their attempt to sabotage brotherly relations enjoyed by the two Islamic countries.”
He also said the article also attempted to undermine “the prime minister’s hugely successful interaction with world leaders in New York, mainly focusing on raising the plight of Kashmiris and his views on Islamophobia which were acclaimed worldwide and won hearts of the Muslim world”.
The spokesman regretted that “the article was aimed at sabotaging Pakistan core national interest of brotherly relations between the two countries for petty political gains”.
