Saudi Embassy in Pakistan denies role in WikiLeaks claims

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Embassy in Islamabad said that Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with the revelations of WikiLeaks. However, it refused to verify or deny the claims.

Riyadh’s stance about Pakistan is very clear, says a statement released by the embassy today (Wednesday).

The statement said that no opinion can be expressed about WikiLeaks’ revelations as the Saudi government has no role in the claims.

According to WikiLeaks documents, Saudi King Abdullah termed President Asif Ali Zardari as the main obstacle for Pakistan’s progress. Trend Pk

U.S. deeply regrets any disclosure of secrets

WASHINGTON: The United States deeply regrets any disclosure of classified information, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday in her first comment on the release of State Department cables by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

While she would not comment directly on the cables, which were described on Sunday by five news organizations who had advance access to some of more than 250,000 cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Clinton said the United States would take aggressive steps to hold responsible those who “stole” them.

“The United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats’ personal assessments and observations,” she told reporters.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the documents report that Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged

Saudi King Called Zardari Greatest Obstacle to Pak Progress

Wikileaks: Saudi King Abdullah called President Asif Ali Zardari the greatest obstacle to Pakistan’s progress, according to an online report of New York Times that quoted Wikileaks as saying.

The report further quoted King Abdullah as saying: “When the head is rotten, it affects the whole body.”

The cables released by Wikileaks, the whistle-blower, disclose that aging monarch of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, as speaking scathingly about the leaders of Iraq and Pakistan.

Speaking to another Iraqi official about Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, King Abdullah said, “You and Iraq are in my heart, but that man is not.” The king called President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan the greatest obstacle to that country’s progress. “When the head is rotten,” he said, “it affects the whole body.”

AFP quoting US documents leaked by WikiLeaks and published by Britain’s Guardian newspaper, said King Abdullah urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear programme.

Leaked memos from US embassies across the Middle East recorded the king’s “frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran and so put an end to its nuclear weapons program.”

The memo showed that the king told the United States to “cut off the head of the snake,” and said that working with Washington to roll back Iranian influence in Iraq was “a strategic priority for the king and his government.

Obama thanks Saudi king for role in averting bombings

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday thanked Saudi King Abdullah for the “critical role” of Saudi counterrorism authorities in uncovering a parcel bomb plot and averting attacks, the White House said.

“The president spoke to Saudi King Abdullah this morning to discuss the terrorist plot that was disrupted yesterday at East Midlands Airport and in Dubai,” the White House said in a summary of Obama’s phone call to the Saudi monarch. AGENCIES

FM Qureshi to leave for Saudi Arabi today

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will leave for Saudi Arabia today for a two-day official visit.

Qureshi would hold meetings with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and his Saudi counterpart.

The sources said that Saudi leadership would take the foreign minister into confidence about the visit of Indian Prime Minister to Riyadh.

Sources further said that he would be informed about the cooperation sought by India to Saudi Arabia.

Swiss record taken into custody: NAB

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Board (NAB) has taken the record of Swiss cases into its custody, NAB spokesman said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court issued contempt of court notices to chiefs of NAB, FIA, interior ministry and officials of establishment division against the non-implementation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

In a statement issued today (Monday), the spokesman said that two-member team was sent to London to get the record.

On the other hand, the seven-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said heard the graft case filed against FIA Additional DIG Ahmed Riaz Sheikh.

The chief justice issued notice to acting NAB chairman on NRO ruling.

Qureshi due to fly to Saudi Arabia on April 2

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia on April 2 for a two-day official visit.

Sources close to Foreign Office said on Monday Qureshi would hold meetings with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and his Saudi counterpart.

The sources said that Saudi leadership would take the foreign minister into confidence about the visit of Indian Prime Minister to Riyadh.

Sources further said that he would be informed about the cooperation sought by India to Saudi Arabia.

Gates In Riyadh To Discuss Curbs On Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

American Defense Secretary Robert Gates was keeping up the pressure on Iran, in the latest move Gates went to Saudi Arabia for consulting about how to respond to Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. U.S. official said Gates would discuss shared concerns over Iran’s nuclear intentions during meetings with Saudi King Abdullah and senior leaders.
Saudi Arabia has long warned of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran gained the bomb but does not openly support tougher sanctions. Saudi Arabia see Iran’s expanding missile capability as an even more immediate threat.
Gates would also discuss on improving defense ties with Saudi Arabia.

Barack Obama Pledges to Push China Respect Trade Ties

President Barack Obama said that China would be constantly pressurized to get its markets open for trade with the US besides making it respect the trade accords.
Obama told Democrat senators that he would put ‘constant pressure’ on China and other countries to abide by the trade accords, however he ruled out taking of protectionist stance towards China, warning that ‘to close ourselves off from that market would be a mistake’. Tension between the US and China mounted over arms sales to Taiwan. Relations have also been strained by reports of Chinese cyber attacks on US-run websites and a planned visit to the US by the Dalai Lama. Earlier, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned Obama that meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader would further erode ties.

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Barack Obama Pledges to Push China Respect Trade Ties was first posted on February 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm.

Hamid Karzai Meets Saudi King

RIYADH: Afghan President Hamid Karzai met Wednesday with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to try to secure an active role by the Arab kingdom in efforts to persuade Taliban militants to join the political process in Afghanistan.

Before the meeting, Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters that the Afghan leader “will ask King Abdullah to initiate mediation with Taliban to start peace talks.”

A Saudi official later said that Karzai made the proposal to King Abdullah but gave no further details. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the kingdom will not get involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban severs all ties with Osama bin Laden and his terror al-Qaida network.

Saudi Arabia has a unique relationship with Taliban since it was one of the few countries to recognize its militant regime before it was ousted in 2001. It also has in the past acted as an intermediary between Taliban and rival Afghan factions.

The Saudi conditions for participating in the talks with Taliban, especially expelling former Saudi citizen bin Laden, are not new, but Riyadh is reiterating them amid a new international push to persuade it to mediate with the Afghan militants.

Karzai has said he is looking forward to a key Saudi role, not only in reconstruction, but a broader role for peace-building and talks with Taliban.

Bin Laden is a member of a wealthy Saudi family but fell out with the government in the early 1990s over the presence of U.S. troops there. He has repeatedly condemned the Saudi ruling family and was stripped of his citizenship in 1994.

Saudi Arabia is wary of getting involved in Afghanistan again, following its role in funding the anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s and later the movement that became the Taliban.

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Hamid Karzai Meets Saudi King was first posted on February 4, 2010 at 3:09 pm.

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