PM Imran Khan's Gulf States tour: To receive Bahrain's highest civil award

[Abdullah719]

Prime Minister Imran Khan will receive Bahrain's highest civil award, the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari has told Arab News.

"Prime Minister is going on an official visit to Bahrain in mid-December where he will be conferred Bahrain’s highest civilian award," the publication quoted Bukhari in a report published on Saturday. Bukhari added that the premier will receive the award at a special ceremony during his visit to the Gulf nation.

According to Arab News, the award was also conferred upon Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 25, the same month that India revoked the special constitutional status of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).

According to diplomatic sources, Prime Minister Imran will leave for Bahrain on December 15 and will attend the Gulf nation's national day celebrations as special guest.

While in Bahrain, Prime Minister Imran will meet Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the report added.

The premier will also visit Switzerland and Malaysia. In Geneva, he is expected to address a conference on refugees.

In Malaysia, he will attend the first Kuala Lumpur Summit to discuss the ummah's problems. The summit in the Malaysian capital from December 18 to 20 is being attended by Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar in addition to host Malaysia. The event’s theme is 'The Role of Development in Achieving National Sovereignty'.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1521306/p...ins-highest-civil-award-pms-special-assistant

 

[maqbool]

Do they award every PM that visits their country?

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday to reassure the kingdom’s leadership that ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia remain firm despite Islamabad’s engagement with other Muslim countries.

The visit, an Arab source disclosed, has been recently planned after signals from Riyadh that it was not happy with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to attend Kuala Lumpur summit being held in Malaysia from Dec 18-20.

The Kuala Lumpur summit is the brainchild of Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Tun Mahathir Mohamad. Other leaders participating in the summit are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani. Indonesian President Joko Widodo too was expected to attend the summit, but he has reportedly succumbed to pressure and one of his representatives would now attend the meeting.

Although it is too early to say how this initiative fares, the Saudis are already seeing the summit as an attempt to present an alternative to the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Visit planned after signals kingdom is not happy with Imran’s decision to attend Kuala Lumpur summit

The increasingly dysfunctional OIC works under the de-facto leadership of the Saudis.

Pakistan, meanwhile, is very keen about the summit. The Foreign Office, in one of the statements, said: “The KL summit would provide Pakistan with an opportunity to exchange views and find solutions to challenges facing the Muslim world, particularly the governance, development, terrorism and Islamophobia. The summit will also provide us an opportunity to foster cooperation in diverse areas with the participating countries.”

The plan for the summit was finalised during a trilateral meeting involving Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia in September in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA session.

PM Khan earlier dispatched Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to mollify Riyadh, where he met his counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the two foreign ministers besides talking on the bilateral agenda also “discussed the latest developments at regional and international arenas”.

FO spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal, at his weekly briefing on Thursday, while responding to questions about PM Khan’s expected visit to Saudi Arabia, said: “High-level political exchanges between the two countries are the hallmark of this brotherly bilateral relationship. You have witnessed the high frequency of leadership level exchanges, especially since last August. The prime minister has undertaken at least three visits to KSA since May this year. Any further information about any future visit will be shared accordingly.”

The prime minister had over the past few months attempted to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, much like past efforts in this regard, the latest initiative too did not get much success. Dr Faisal, responding to a question on the mediation project, said: “We continue to make sincere efforts.”

Doha talks

Spokesman Dr Faisal said Pakistan was hoping that the ongoing talks between the US and Taliban would conclude successfully and that would lead to an intra-Afghan dialogue and reduction of violence.

The resurrected US-Taliban dialogue started last Saturday. The discussions have so far been on reduction in violence and the intra-Afghan dialogue that would follow an agreement between the two sides.

Spokesman for Taliban’s Political Office Suhail Shaheen said that the two sides have had talks in “good and positive” atmosphere and were now breaking for consultations. He said their negotiations would resume after a few days.

Dr Faisal, meanwhile at the weekly media briefing, urged all parties to the conflict to be “watchful of the role of spoilers who do not wish to see an end to the Afghan conflict”.

“Our policy regarding Afghanistan is clear and the prime minister has reiterated it several times that there can only be a political solution to the Afghan conflict. It is heartening to note that all the global powers are now coming to this conclusion as well,” he added.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1521991/pms-visit-to-saudi-arabia-aims-to-assuage-riyadhs-reservations

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Bahrain on December 16 (tomorrow) on the invitation of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to attend the country's National Day celebrations as the guest of honour.

According to a press release issued on Sunday, a delegation including members of the cabinet and senior government officials will accompany the prime minister.

This will be Imran's first visit to Bahrain since assuming office in August 2018.

During the visit, Prime Minister Imran is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with the Bahraini king as well as delegation talks with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

During these meetings, the prime minister is expected to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries as well as matters concerning regional and international issues, the press release added.

In a subsequent statement, the PTI noted that the visit "will enable the two sides to explore ways and means to further deepen bilateral trade and investment ties".

It will "impart a strong impetus to both sides’ endeavours to forge a closer, multifaceted bilateral relationship," the statement added.

Imran to be presented Bahrain's highest civil award
The government's press release added that during the visit, Bahrain's highest civil award will be conferred upon the prime minister.

This was confirmed earlier in the week by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari while speaking to Arab News.

"The prime minister is going on an official visit to Bahrain in mid-December where he will be conferred Bahrain’s highest civilian award," the publication quoted Bukhari.

He added that the premier will receive the award at a special ceremony during his visit to the Gulf nation.

PM reaching out to Arab countries
Imran on Saturday visited Saudi Arabia, while Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Bajwa travelled to Abu Dhabi.

The prime minister held consultations with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman covering bilateral matters and regional developments, according to a press release.

Imran emphasised the strategic importance of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations and termed it a pivotal partnership for peace, progress and prosperity.

In the context of the Middle East, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s perspective that disputes and differences be resolved through political and diplomatic means.

Taking to Twitter, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the visit was meant to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. She maintained that Pakistan will stand by Saudi Arabia during trying times.

The prime minister is believed to have undertaken the trip to Saudi Arabia to assuage the reservations of the kingdom about Pakistan’s engagement with Iran and participation in the Kuala Lumpur Summit being hosted by Malaysia from Dec 19-21.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1522421/prime-minister-imran-khan-to-visit-bahrain-tomorrow

 

[MenInG]

Sad to see that Imran wont be meeting or addressing people in Bahrain like his Indian counterpart - would have taken an extra 3-4 hours but our useless Embassy have done it again!

 

[Lonewarrior]

Bahrain's King Hamad confers kingdom's highest civil award on PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan was awarded Bahrain's highest civil award by King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, during his trip to the Gulf country on Monday.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1522582/bahrains-king-hamad-confers-kingdoms-highest-civil-award-on-pm-imran

 

[Abdullah719]

 

[MenInG]

Bahrain's King Hamad confers kingdom's highest civil award on PM Imran

https://www.dawn.com/news/1522582/bahrains-king-hamad-confers-kingdoms-highest-civil-award-on-pm-imran

1-1 with India lol.

 

[WebGuru]

1-1 with India lol.

I wonder if MBS performed the driver duty for Modi too? He did it for IK yesterday