ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali returned here on Friday evening from Madinah, after a five-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.

He was received at the airport by Federal Minister for Information and Media Development Shaikh Rashid Ahmad, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Abdul Sattar Laleka, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf and Adviser Fateh Ali Umrani, besides other high officials.

In a statement issued here on Friday after his arrival, the PM said: “My visit to Saudi Arabia was extremely useful and fruitful, and it will help contribute towards strengthening of the already close, cordial and strategic relations between the two brotherly states.”

During his visit, the prime minister said, he had held meetings with King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arab, to whom he had conveyed good wishes on behalf of the countrymen.

Mr Jamali said he had expressed full solidarity of Pakistan with Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi monarch appreciated the sentiments and responded that the Kingdom was proud of its ties with Pakistan.

The prime minister said there was a complete identity of views in his meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. “I discussed with him the situation pertaining to Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and matters relating to the OIC,” he added.

The prime minister said he had also briefed the crown prince on the current relations with India and pointed out the need for an early resolution of the core issue of Kashmir.

During a banquet hosted by the crown prince, Mr Jamali said, he had the opportunity of meeting with a large number of royal family members and the Saudi cabinet ministers.

The premier said Prince Khalid bin Sultan, deputy minister for defence; Dr Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Abdullah, minister for finance and national economy; and Engineer Ali bin Ibrahim, minister for petroleum and mineral resources called on him separately.—APP