Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to Hold Summit Amid Rare Diplomatic Tensions

General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of staff of the Pakistan military, will fly to Saudi Arabia over the weekend in an attempt to mend fences between the two Asian allies. Bajwa will be tasked with making nice with Saudi officials, as Pakistan hopes to persuade its friend to fork over more cash, or at least ease up its demands for loan paybacks. The source of Saudi unhappiness with Islamabad is recent criticism voiced publicly by Pakistan over Riyadh’s preference to remain neutral in the Indian-Pakistani dispute over the territory of Kashmir. After Pakistan officials expressed their displeasure with Saudi Arabia’s lack of support regarding the ongoing conflict, Riyad’s Finance Ministry began requesting its billions of dollars’ worth of loans to be paid back immediately, while also ignoring Pakistan’s request to extend oil credit agreements.