October 24, 2020
What is behind rumors about bitter Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations?
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Pakistan Foreign Office Thursday denied a social media report on Saudi Arabia's role in the assessment of Pakistan’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong fraternal ties and the two countries have always cooperated with each other on all matters of bilateral, regional and international importance,” said the FO spokesperson.
"Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong fraternal ties and the two countries have always cooperated with each other on all matters of bilateral, regional and international importance," said the statement by the spokesperson.
A renowned journalist, Sabir Shakir, has reported that Saudi Arabia has voted against Pakistan in the virtual plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He also asserted that Saudi Arabia lobbied to woo the support of other Muslim countries including Turkey to move Pakistan into the blacklist of the global financial watchdog.
Historically, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy close friendship relations, however recent developments give some credence to Mr. Sabir Shakir’s story.
However, before devolving into the souring Pakistan-Saudi relations, I would like to explain what FATF is and what it’s objective is.
Nominally FATF is an international instrument to track Money Laundering, however mainly it is used to track the so-called Terrorism Financing. Of course we don’t know what is terrorism? since there is no globally accepted definition.
There are over 109 different definitions of terrorism, according to Arie W. Kruglanski and Shira Fishman, authors of Terrorism Between ‘‘Syndrome’’and ‘‘Tool’. ’ Bruce Hoffman, an American scholar, has noted that it is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism. Experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus. C. A. J. Coady has written that the question of how to define terrorism is "irresolvable" because "it’s natural home is in polemical, ideological and propagandist contexts."
Hence, the FATF is another western instrument to put pressure on those countries which resist their predatory policies.
Is this a financial or a political issue?
If the commentary by international news media is any indicator, Pakistan’s placement on FATF’s grey list is far more political than financial in nature. It is being seen as one of the several ways the US is attempting to pressure Pakistan to “do more” on issues related to ‘terrorism,’ according to daily Dawn.
The long-winded, jargon-filled recommendations and methodology used by FATF leave plenty of flexibility for the team of assessors to exercise their “informed judgment”. That is, based on the same information, assessors could reach more than one judgment, including the one sought by the politically powerful.
US is also a major financier of FATF and the current president of FATF is an Assistant Secretary from the US Department of the Treasury who heads the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.
If US can have Pakistan placed on the grey list, it may also make it difficult for Pakistan to exit the list. Bottom line is that FATF’s grey listing of Pakistan should not be looked at in isolation but placed in the larger picture of US-Pakistan relations that have had many ups and downs, Dawn concluded.
Pakistan-Saudi Relations
Now let us discuss the drifting relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia surfaced last August when Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that if it didn’t convene a meeting of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss India’s abrogation of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year, Pakistan would go ahead to call a meeting of Islamic countries that would stand by it on the Kashmir issue. In effect, Qureshi was threatening the OIC and the Saudis that Pakistan would go outside the OIC to convene a session on Kashmir.
Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia did not like Qureshi’s statement and forced Pakistan to return $1 billion immediately, which Islamabad repaid after Beijing came to its rescue. In 2018, with Islamabad facing a current accounts crisis, the Saudis had extended Pakistan a $6.2 billion package, which included $3 billion in loans and oil on deferred payments worth $3.2 billion. In addition to calling in the loans, Riyadh has frozen the oil credit facility.
There are several reasons for the souring relations. Saudi Arabia is not happy with Pakistan fraternizing with countries like Iran, Turkey, and Malaysia, which are seen rivals to Riyadh’s leadership of the Muslim world.
Last year, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, showed much enthusiasm in the planning of a summit of Islamic countries in Malaysia. However, Saudi Arabia forced him not to attend the Malaysia summit by threatening to sever financial life line to the country.
To borrow, Turkish President Erdogan, “Saudi Arabia threatened Pakistan with extreme measures, including the imposition of economic sanctions on the country and deportation of its citizens working in the Kingdom, to stop it from attending the Kuala Lumpur Summit.”
Another important reason for Saudi Arabia cracking the whip on Pakistan is its strengthening economic and security relationship with India over the past decade, according to Sudha Ramchandran of the Diplomat. “Riyadh and New Delhi are now working together even on counterterrorism issues, which would have been impossible even a few years ago, given Saudi Arabia’s long-standing endorsement of Pakistan’s policy of supporting anti-India terrorist groups.”
With its ties with India on the upswing, the Saudis would like to avoid raising the Kashmir issue. There is nothing to be gained from doing this, and a sure price to be paid in its relations with New Delhi. Hence, Riyadh has repeatedly refused to call a high-level meeting on Kashmir at the OIC, Sudha concluded.
Saudi demands
Not surprisingly, in August last, social media was abuzz with reports that Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan:
1. To close the China Pakistan Economic Corridor deal with China and move back to US camp & close its relations with China
2. To stop all gas and economic cooperation with Iran & support UN sanctions on Iran
3. Stop raising Kashmir issue & accept annexation of Kashmir by India. Roll back it’s new political map.
4. Break all relations with Turkey, Qatar & Malaysia & accept help from Saudi & fight for Saudi in Yemen
5. Stop openly supporting Palestine & usher ties with Israel & accept US peace plan of Jerusalem as capital of Israel
6. Failing to fulfill conditions Saudi Arabia will send back 1 million workers from Saudi Arabia & stop oil supply over deferred payments.
7. Pakistan out rightly declined these conditions & maintained its unconditional support to Kashmir & Palestine.
The social media reports added:
1. Pakistan rejected breaking away from China & stop CPEC projects.
2. If Saudi stops oil Pakistan will undermine US sanctions on Iran & get oil from Iran directly.
3. If Saudi Arabia sends back labors Pakistan will move its army & police from Saudi Arabia
4. Pakistan will break OIC & join Turkey, Malaysia, Libya, Iran, Qatar, Azerbaijan & central Asians countries.
5. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt block will face bigger block lead by Turkey & Malaysia
Tellingly, Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Saudi Arabia on August 17, to thaw Pakistan-Saudi ties. General Bajwa was accompanied by the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Faiz Hameed.
P.S.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday decided to keep Pakistan on the “grey list” till the next review of its compliance to the recommendations in February next year.
At the FATF Plenary Turkey proposed that the members should consider Pakistan’s good work and instead of waiting for completion of the remaining six of the 27 parameters, an FATF on-site team should visit Pakistan to finalize its assessment, according to Indian newspapers.
Normally such a visit is a signal for exit from the grey or black list. When the proposal was placed before the 38-member Plenary, no other member seconded the move. It was not supported by even Saudi Arabia, a close ‘friend’ of Pakistan. The FATF finally decided to keep Pakistan in the “grey list”.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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