Hostility between lifelong allies Pakistan and Saudi Arabia seems deteriorating with every passing day. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently made a statement where he threatened, if the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), headed by Saudi Arabia, did not convene a foreign ministers’ meeting on Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan would hold a meeting on his own with his allies among the Islamic countries. The statement is being seen as an unusual move by the Pakistani FM who is known for his diplomatic skills across the world. In a strongly-worded statement in a private TV show, he demanded the Muslim world to come together and listen to the people of Kashmir. The foreign minister said: “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Coun...

In January this year, India imposed new restrictions on palm oil imports from Malaysia due to Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s 2019 UN General Assembly comments on Kashmir and support for Pakistan. In September 2019, after the abrogation of Kashmir's special status, Mahathir slammed India in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) alleging Jammu Kashmir was “invaded and occupied”. Mahathir's UNGA remarks had initially drawn a strong backlash with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying that India “completely rejects the references made in respect of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India.” On the first anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, that granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir, ...