Pakistan PM plays down differences with Saudi Arabia
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has played down differences with longtime ally Saudi Arabia after his army chief visited Riyadh in a bid to ease a dispute over policy towards the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had no differences, Khan said in a late Tuesday interview, backing away from criticism by his foreign minister this month who suggested Saudi Arabia was indifferent on Kashmir. "The rumours that our relations with Saudi Arabia have soured are totally false," Khan said in the interview with the Dunya News television channel. Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018. Pakistan's demands for Saudi Arabia to support it against India over Kashmir led to Saudi Arabia forcing Pakistan to pay back $1bn early, sources said. Saudi Arabia is also demanding repayment of another $1bn of the loan, they said.
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