Pakistan is facing an economic crisis. The current value of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar is over PKR 175. Everything in the country is expensive, and people are struggling to meet their daily needs. Amidst all the economic mess, Saudi Arabia, the top leader of the Islamic world, is getting hate from the Patriotic Pakistanis.

Though Saudi Arabia has extended the repayment date for the previous Loan and provided an additional Loan to Pakistan, it is essential to understand why the patriots of a country that is in economic crisis are hating the nation that is providing the financial support.

Since Imran Khan came to power, the already under-crisis Pakistan went further into deeper financial troubles. The breakpoint came in Pakistan when India announced the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The announcement irked the neighbouring country to the extent that irrespective of the fact that a lot of business happened between the two countries, Pakistan put a stop to the trade. It further deepened the financial crisis.

The 2018 loan from Saudi Arabia and the drama that followed

In 2018, Pakistan secured a $6.2 billion loan from Saudi Arabia. The package was announced following Imran Khan’s visit to Riyadh. Pakistan received $3 Billion to support its balance of payments crisis, and a further $3 Billion were extended in the form of oil imports. Everything was going fairly smooth between the two nations, but after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K, Pakistan started to build pressure on Saudi Arabia to speak up against India’s actions.

In 2020, while continuing its pressure on Riyadh, Pakistan moved a step further and threatened to form another Islamic bloc with Iraq, Turkey, and Malaysia. There was a limit to Riyadh’s patience, and it was crossed with the decision of forming another Islamic bloc. Saudi Arabia immediately asked Pakistan to repay part of the Loan that rounded up to $1 Billion. Saudi has a history of using its Loan to Pakistan to arm-twist its way into the decision-making process of the neighbouring country.

Pakistan tried its level best to convince Saudi to repeal its demand for a loan payback, but it did not work. Then came the all-weather friend of Pakistan, China, to the rescue. Pakistan got a loan of $1 Billion from China that was used to repay Saudi Arabia. Here what is notable is that China’s biggest investment (worth $60 Billion) in Pakistan, i.e. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is getting delayed for numerous reasons, including several disputes and security concerns. It is also noteworthy that loans from China come with a huge price. Several countries, including Sri Lanka, have lost properties on their own land to China due to the inability to repay the loan. But it is a story for another day.

The $10 billion investment that never happened

In 2019, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed interest in setting up a Saudi Aramco refinery in the Pakistani port of Gwadar. The project was worth $10 Billion, and it came at the point when cash-strapped Pakistan was running from pillar to post for foreign investment. At the same time, the Crown Prince had announced investments worth $100 Billion in India.

While the investments in India were on track, in 2020, the Pakistan government was informed that Saudi Arabia was not going to invest in Pakistan, owing to the global economic slowdown due to the Pandemic and poor commercial potential of the project.

Pakistan, Turkey agree to be in close contact on all common interests

Saudi Arabia’s decision was linked to Pakistan’s support to Turkey

It is essential to mention here that Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads over the Muslim world’s leadership for a long. The relationship between the two nations went sour after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia sees Turkey as a threat to its leadership.

Pakistan’s decision to side with Turkey to form a new Muslim bloc angered Saudi Arabia. Turkey does not lead any Muslim bloc like Saudi Arabia, but it has projected itself as a leader of the Muslim world by raising concerns over “problems Muslims and Muslim countries are facing”.

The newfound love for Turkey reached such a level that Pakistanis went crazy over the Turkish drama Ertugrul and even Imran Khan started hailing it. The Pakistani PM asked his fellow countrymen to watch Ertugrul multiple times.

The patriotic Pakistanis’ anger towards Saudi Arabia and ‘world class’ solutions: Nukes and opium

Pakistanis often direct hate towards Saudi Arabia over different issues on social media networks. One Twitter user who goes by the handle CestMoiz scrolled through a Pakistani forum and found some worth-reading gems. The cash-strapped country has some ‘smoked-up’ patriots who not only have ‘best-selling’ ideas to end the economic crisis in Pakistan but are also willing to nuke Saudi Arabia for asking back the money they gave to Pakistan as Loan.

One of the posts that CestMoiz shared has a ‘solution’ provided by a Pakistani patriot in which he urged the government to issue more licenses to grow opium. He called it a good idea because the market value of opium is much higher than regular crops. He said as Islam allows consumption of opium used for medical purposes, allowing more farmers to grow opium and produce medical-grade products would help Pakistan in ending the economic crisis.

In another post, a Pakistani called Saudi Arabia ostriches just because they asked for their own money parked in Pakistani banks. The user said Saudis would kiss Pakistani’s feet once they were out of the economic crisis. He also suggested Pakistan should come out of the crisis without Saudi Arabia’s help.

Another user who goes by the handle Smoke said that as Pakistan has nukes, it has the power to threaten Saudi Arabia. He said, “Scare them, tell them you have three days to approve a new oil deal, condemn and take action against India for Kashmir. If you do not comply, we will nuke you off the face of this planet. Good luck selling your oil then.”

One user on the forum claimed that Pakistan threw the “money on Saudi Arabia’s face” because it was using the Loan to meddle with Pakistan’s foreign policy.

Earlier, Pakistanis had declared hatred for UAE too

The Pakistani love for Turkey was so deep that when Turkey and UAE had a diplomatic fallout over the Libyan crisis in 2020, patriotic Pakistanis had started a trend to ‘boycott UAE’. They claimed that UAE is India’s friend and because UAE is also doing things that Turkey doesn’t like, UAE deserves to be boycotted by Pakistanis in a show of true friendship.

Pakistanis boycotting UAE

Pakistanis boycotting UAE

The new Saudi loan with stricter regulations

Saudi Arabia has sanctioned a new loan to Pakistan on November 29 last year, under which Riyadh would provide $4.2 Billion to Pakistan for one year. $3 Billion would be provided in the form of safe deposits, while $1.2 billion would be provided in the form of oil supplies.

The regulations, however, are strict this time. Saudi Arabia has the right to ask Pakistan to repay the Loan on a 72-hour notice without giving any reason for the recall. There is no rollover option, and Pakistan has to repay the loan after one year.

Riyadh now has a lot of advantages over Pakistan. It can use the loan conditions to arm-twist Pakistan if it tries to do something that is against the interest of Saudi Arabia. Also, it will put a stop to an increasing romance between Turkey and Pakistan.

References:

opindia.com - OpIndia Staff