Cash-strapped Pakistan sends Army chief Asim Munir to Saudi, UAE

Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir on Monday met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties between the two countries, as the cash-strapped country faces a dire economic situation.

General Munir, who is on a week-long official visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, arrived in the Gulf Kingdom on Thursday on his first official visit abroad since taking command in November. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the two key supporters of Pakistan who come to its rescue when the chips are down.

Prince Muhammad welcomed General Munir at the winter camp in Al-Ula, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

"During the reception, they reviewed bilateral relations and the ways of enhancing them, in addition to a number of issues of common concern," it said.

The reception was attended by Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and National Security Adviser. Pakistan's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ameer Khurram and other officials were also present.

General Munir, who has headed Pakistan's both powerful spy agencies - the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI), assumed charge as the new Army chief in November end, replacing General Qamar Javed Bajwa who retired after two consecutive three-year terms.

Last week, he met Defence Minister Prince Khalid and discussed ways of strengthening cooperation between the two countries. "They discussed military and defence cooperation, and ways to support and enhance them, in addition to discussing the most important regional and international issues of common interest," the Saudi news agency had reported.

Earlier, the army said in a statement that General Munir would also meet the senior leadership of Saudi Arabia and UAE countries to “discuss matters of mutual interest, military-to-military cooperation, and bilateral relations focusing on security-related subjects”.

The visit comes as cash-strapped Pakistan is battling to fix its economic and political fissures amidst a parochial political rivalry between former premier Imran Khan and the current government.

Khan's political movement has been curtailed and he has been confined to Lahore due to an injury in a gun attack during his rally in November.

The 70-year-old leader, however, routinely addresses his supporters through video links and interviews, lambasting the government and the former Army chief Gen (retd.) Bajwa while predicting the country will face a Sri Lanka-like situation if elections were not held at the earliest.

However, the government has rejected all reports and rumours about possible default and efforts were going on to address the dwindling economic conditions.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy close military and economic ties and the kingdom has been providing critical support at the crucial hours.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also toured Saudi Arabia and the UAE in a bid to secure funds for the crash-strapped country.

Pakistan faces a serious crisis as its foreign reserves are down to USD 5.8 billion, which include deposits worth USD 5 billion from Saudi Arabia and China with specific conditions of use.

Official sources said that Prime Minister Sharif was expected to travel to the UAE on January 10 to meet the top leaders in a bid to seek financial support.

His visit would coincide with that of General Munir who in the second leg of the tour to the Middle East would also be in the Gulf emirate after meeting his Saudi hosts.

Pakistan's economic situation is facing "severe headwinds" with inflation being forecast to stay high between 21-23 per cent and the country's fiscal deficit widening by more than 115 per cent in the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year.

Pakistan's Ministry of Finance in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook last week said that the economic growth is likely to remain below the budgeted target in FY23 due to the devastation caused by floods.