RIYADH, April 20: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have called for ‘a substantive UN role’ in the reconstruction of Iraq. This was announced at the end of a two-day official visit to the Kingdom by foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.

During the visit, the Pakistani delegation called on the Saudi Crown prince Abdullah.

Before calling on the Crown Prince, Mr Kasuri and his delegation also had a two-hour working session on Sunday with the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in Riyadh.

While emphasizing the need to uphold Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, both the sides felt that the coalition forces should leave Iraq as soon as possible. Ways and means for providing much needed humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people were also discussed.

The necessity of the immediate restoration of security and stability in Iraq was also underlined during the meetings. Both the sides reiterated that the wealth and resources of Iraq belonged to the Iraqi people alone.

Other international issues including Kashmir, Pakistan’s relations with India and Afghanistan also came under discussion during the meetings.