THE Pakistani media and public were thrilled by the recent visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. It was a magnificent visit with all the pomp and grandeur mustered by a country under severe debt. The crown prince is the de facto leader of not only the Arab world, but — as the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”, — arguably of all Muslims as well.

I was saddened that no attention was paid by the Pakistani media to the “peace and security of the Middle East” conference held in Warsaw, Poland. This conference was held just before MBS started his Pakistan trip. It was attended mainly by foreign ministers of over 50 countries, and interestingly by only one Prime Minister — Israel’s Binjamin Netanyahu. In a panel discussion during the conference, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE clearly stated that Iran — not Israel, — was the major problem in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation along with annexation of Jerusalem and blockade of Gaza were now no longer a major issue. The Israeli prime minister summed it up best when he said: “Once the Palestinian issue took center stage ….”

As citizens of a country which is now beholden to Saudi Arabia and its allies, instead of being saddened, maybe we should rejoice that the Palestinian issue has been finally resolved.

Dr Azhar Malik

Tampa, Florida, USA

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CROWN Prince Muhammad bin Salman received the full red carpet welcome on his official visit to Pakistan. The crown prince and Prime Minister Imran Khan mutually signed Memorandums of Understanding on food processing, oil imports and other many vital business ventures.

It is a proud moment for Pakistan that foreign investors are showing interest in the country. I think it shows great gesture on his part when Imran Khan went to pick MBS himself and drove him to where he was staying without any protocol.

While MBS has some skeletons in his closet, we should remember that he was here to help stabilise our country.

Javed Mohsin Syed

Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2019