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Pakistan in fighting militant proxies (Wright 2012 ). Far from Pakistan
countering India through Saudi Arabia, the latter is ‘balancing’ Pakistani
ineptitude in fighting extremism by cooperating with India. Ansari’s
deportation was followed by two other wanted persons being sent to India
(SPA 2017 ) resulting in former Pakistani general Talat Masood to lament
that relationship with Saudi Arabia “is no longer a monopoly of Pakistan”
(Wright 2012 ).
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s refusal in early 2015 to join the Saudi
military campaign against Yemen did not go down well among the Gulf
Arab rulers. Riyadh’s disappointment was acute since it was its intervention
that saved Sharif ’s life when General Pervez Musharraf carried out the mili-
tary coup October 1999. Moreover, until his return to Pakistan in 2007,
Riyadh hosted and protected Sharif. Upset over the Pakistani snub, Emirati
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash observed: “The vague
and contradictory stands of Pakistan and Turkey are an absolute proof that
the Arab security—from Libya to Yemen—is the responsibility of none but
Arab countries” (Staff Report 2015 ). Pakistan has also been non-commit-
tal about the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance against the ISIS that
excluded Iran and Syria despite former Pakistani Army Chief Raheel Sharif
being named as its commander-in-chief (Hussain 2017 ). Above all, in
February 2017 Saudi Gazette reported that during the previous four
months about 39,000 Pakistani citizens were deported for “violating the
rules of residence and work” but added “the involvement of a number of
Pakistani nationals in some terrorist actions orchestrated by Daesh, the
so-called IS, is a cause of public and societal worry” (Al-Shihri 2017 ).
conclusion
There are clear indications that the Pakistani factor upon Indo-Saudi rela-
tions has been diminishing since the late 1990s. While the references to
Kashmir in the OIC deliberations have been on the rise, their effect upon
the bilateral relations between India and key Muslim countries, including
Saudi Arabia, have been minimal. In its multilateral diplomacy the
Kingdom defers to Pakistan over Kashmir, but bilaterally it has been prag-
matic and non-polemical vis-à-vis India. Since the visit of King Abdullah
in January 2006 to India, both countries have been highlighting their
‘strategic partnership’ that encompasses greater political understanding,
economic partnership and energy security cooperation.
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR