Why the Saudi Crown Prince is walking a tightrope on India and Pakistan
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's India visit came after he was accorded a very warm reception in Pakistan, where the Saudis announced investments worth a whopping $20 billion.
New Delhi: Speaking in New Delhi on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that terrorism and extremism were a common threat facing India and his country.
Later in a joint statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince condemned “in the strongest terms” the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF men.
“Both sides underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the UN,” the joint statement said.
But MBS, as he is popularly known, did not mention Pakistan, the country harbouring the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which carried out the attack in Pulwama.
In fact, the Crown Prince’s India visit came after he was accorded a very warm reception in Pakistan, where the Saudis announced investments worth a whopping $20 billion.
According to reports in the Pakistani media, the Crown Prince described Pakistan as a “dear country” and said the two countries had “walked together in tough and good times”.
Even to a casual observer, it would be clear that MBS is doing an improbable balancing act between India and Pakistan, given that his visit to the subcontinent comes immediately after the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir.
But there is more to bin Salman’s visit than carefully constructed statements and remarks aimed at pleasing all hosts, and it would be a mistake to see it solely through the prism of India-Pakistan relations.
The Khashoggi murder fallout
America’s CIA has more or less concluded that bin Salman personally ordered the brutal and brazen murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi journalist, last year. Following this, the Crown Prince has struggled to repair the damage to his reputation, and been shunned by a prominent section of the international community.
It has therefore become important for the Saudis to project that it’s business as usual, and the lavish welcome he received in Pakistan played into that image.
Both countries are, of course, key Muslim powers. While oil-rich Saudi Arabia is home to the holiest Muslim sites, nuclear-armed Pakistan is home to 11 per cent of the world’s Muslim population. Saudi Arabia has been helping Pakistan financially for decades.
Before Khashoggi’s murder, MBS was on a PR overdrive internationally, seeking to diversify his country’s economy from the over-dependence on oil. But the Saudis now have a limited pool of allies and neutral countries to choose from following the post-Khashoggi backlash.
The Iran factor
If Pakistan’s foreign policy is centred around its misguided obsession with a perceived threat from India, Sunni Saudi Arabia’s regional rivalry with Shia Iran defines much of its foreign and defence policy.
Interestingly, a substantial chunk of the $20 billion Saudi investment in Pakistan announced a few days ago is meant for building the Gwadar oil refinery, not far from the Iran border. Last week, the Iran government indicated that militants groups in Pakistan were responsible for a blast that killed 27 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Tehran has earlier blamed Saudi Arabia and Israel for similar attacks on its troops.
On its part, India, following an independent foreign policy, seeks to maintain mutually beneficial relationships with both Middle East rivals.
Money talks
Given this background it is unrealistic to expect MBS to openly endorse India’s naming and shaming of Pakistan. However, it’s possible that the Saudis are trying to talk sense to Pakistan behind closed doors.
After all, with much of the West unwilling to give Saudi Arabia a blank cheque, it needs support from India – the fastest growing major economy in the world and, like Pakistan, home to one-tenth of the world’s Muslims. It’s worth noting that New Delhi has not taken a public stance on the Khashoggi killing.
The key takeaway then from the bin Salman visit to India is that while trade and business ties between the two countries are likely to grow from strength to strength, New Delhi should temper its expectations from Riyadh when it comes to matters concerning Pakistan’s dubious role in South Asia.
The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way represent those of Times Network.