Pakistan has decided to support Kuwait’s efforts for defusing the crisis in Gulf and continue to maintain its diplomatic contacts with the countries of the region without taking any initiative on its own for the time being.
A message of solidarity has been conveyed to the emir of Kuwait for his initiative to check escalation and bringing normalcy in the area.
Highly placed diplomatic sources said that the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to Saudi Arabia last Monday helped Pakistan in making better understanding of the situation.
They had meeting with Khadim-e-Hurmain Sharifain King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman who is also Defence Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Finance Minister Senator Mohamed Ishaq Dar was also accompanying the dash by Prime Minister to Jeddah and he had an important meeting with Saudi Arabia ambassador-designate for Pakistan Admiral Nawwaf bin Said Almalki here in Islamabad yesterday.
The ambassador-designate has just returned from the Kingdom.
Diplomatic sources are hopeful that Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah’s mission would yield some positive result as he had short visit to Saudi Arabia early this month where he held talks with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on ways to defuse an escalating crisis between Arab countries and Qatar.
The emir was foreign minister of Kuwait for long before assuming the incumbent prestigious office.
Sources brushed aside the impression that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be visiting any capital for the purpose for any new initiative in the matter anytime soon.
He was leaving for Umrah and offering prayers at Masjid-e-Nabvi (Peace be upon Him) in Madina Munawwarah yesterday.
The prime minister will be returning home in the first week of next month since he will be proceeding to London on Eid day for his routine medical check-up.
On Thursday Pakistan said the diplomatic crisis would not affect its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports from Qatar.
Speaking at a news conference, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pakistan was currently importing 600mn cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of LNG from Qatar.
“This is a commercial contract. It is binding and will not be affected” by the ongoing tension between Riyadh and Doha. He said only a force majeure event that is beyond the control of the two parties and international sanctions, particularly on gas sales, could affect LNG imports from Qatar.
“There are no such apprehensions on both counts,” he said.
He said Pakistan was importing 2.7mn tonnes of LNG whereas neighbouring India was importing 9mn tonnes and South Korea, Japan and China were importing 60mn tonnes of LNG from Qatar.
He said the imported 600mmcfd of LNG, which was being supplied to the industry, captive power plants, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and CNG sector.
He said Pakistan used to import 1mn tonnes of fertiliser before the import of LNG.
The country will export 0.6mn tonnes of fertiliser this year due to the supply of LNG to the fertiliser industry.
He said that Pakistan was building deeper relations with many countries through oil and gas deals on a government-to-government basis after the successful model of oil imports from Kuwait.


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