Saudi Arabia moves to ease India-Pakistan tensions

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia early Saturday said it was making efforts to de-escalate tensions between and , end current military confrontations, and promote the resolution of all disputes through dialogue and diplomatic channels.

In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry said that upon the directives of the Saudi leadership, Al-Jubeir visited India and Pakistan on May 8 and 9 as part of the Kingdom’s “ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions, end current military confrontations, and promote the resolution of all disputes through dialogue and diplomatic channels”.

The Saudi statement came as tensions soared significantly, with Pakistan claiming that its three airbases were targeted by Indian missiles and drones early Saturday.

Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases of Pakistan Air Force were targeted.

Minutes later, citing security officials, state-run PTV said that Pakistan has launched a retaliatory operation “Bunyan al-Marsous”, meaning “Iron Wall”.

Al-Jubeir travelled to New Delhi on Thursday on an unannounced visit and discussed with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar the situation that has developed since India’s military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir early Wednesday.

On Friday, the Saudi minister visited Islamabad, where he held talks with Pakistan’s top leadership.

Tensions between the two neighbours increased after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.

Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India — from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat — for the second night on Friday, with the defence ministry saying the enemy’s attempts to hit vital installations, including airports and air bases, were successfully thwarted.

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