Riyadh: Saudi Arabia understands India’s position on Kashmir and believes what New Delhi is doing is for the betterment of its own population, an Indian source said here Wednesday.
The source made the remarks a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman here.
“There is a greater political understanding (in Saudi Arabia) of India’s position on Kashmir,” said the source privy to meeting between the top leaders of the two countries. He informed that there was no discussion on Kashmir during the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Modi and the top Saudi leadership Tuesday. He, however, said Pakistan did come up during talks between the two sides.
“Saudi Arabia considers Kashmir as an internal issue of India,” the source said, indicating that the Saudi side does not support Pakistan on the issue.
“They (Saudi leaders) say what India is doing is for the betterment of its own population and as a country they do not like to interfere in other’s internal matters,” the source pointed out, referring to the abrogation of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan’s effort to seek support from its key allies, including Saudi Arabia, on the issue.
“Saudi Arabia sees India as one composite entity,” the source said, adding that Pakistan or any country trying to seek support in the name of religion would not work.
A joint statement issued Tuesday after the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed reiterated ‘their categorical rejection of all forms of interference in the internal affairs of countries’.
The statement also asked the international community to ‘fulfill its responsibilities towards preventing any attacks on the sovereignty of State’, without naming any country.
Saudi Arabia, known to be a key ally of Pakistan, has been siding with India in its campaign to rid the region of terrorism and pledged to extend all cooperation to effectively deal with the challenge.
PTI