ISLAMABAD: His Majesty King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto today [Oct 15] reiterated their determination to give high priority to the promotion of Islamic solidarity and to stand by each other in all matters bearing on national independence and territorial integrity of their countries. A joint communique, issued … at the end of the Saudi Monarch’s six-day State visit to Pakistan, said the two leaders expressed their complete satisfaction at their bilateral relations, which have progressively gained in strength. …

The two leaders solemnly declared that Islam, which was the basis of their nationhood and the guiding force of their policies, constituted an indissoluble bond of unfailing strength and indestructible solidarity. They agreed that the herculean problems facing the world today could be resolved by the proper understanding of the spirit of Islam and its basic precepts of justice… . King Khalid and Prime Minister Bhutto emphasised that a just and permanent solution of the Middle East problem could only be achieved on the basis of complete Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem… .

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026