RAWALPINDI: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has said that Pakistan would continue to strive for forging still closer bilateral understanding and relations with Saudi Arabia. “Once we have done that successfully, other things will fall into place”, he told a [news agency correspondent] in an interview.

Strengthening of bilateral relations, the Prime Minister said, required an understanding of each other’s problems and comprehension of mutuality of interest. That was, therefore, the essence of the problem. After that co-operation in various other fields … would themselves gain momentum.

Mr Bhutto welcomed the Saudi initiative to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding between some Arab countries and the Saudi monarch’s recent call for Arab summit on the Lebanon.

He noted that Saudi Arabia had been steadily taking a greater part in the affairs of the regions and that Saudi contribution had been constructive and sincere. …

… In reply to a question, Prime Minister Bhutto said that the object of the Lahore Islamic Summit had been to arrive at certain important political decisions relating to the Muslim world and relating to the unity of the Arab world and the Arab cause.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2026