ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis on Wednesday congratulated Saudi Arabia on its 90th National Day and wished prosperity to the kingdom, which many consider their “second home.”
President Dr. Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan sent messages of felicitation to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
“The president expressed his best wishes for the good health of His Majesty and for progress and prosperity of the people of the brotherly Kingdom,” Dr. Alvi’s office said, while the prime minister in a statement expressed his “best wishes for continued progress and prosperity of the people of Saudi Arabia” and “hope that the fraternal ties between the two nations would continue to flourish.”
Politicians of both the ruling party and opposition highlighted the uniqueness and fraternity of the relationship between the two countries.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a deep rooted and long-standing fraternal relationship. We wish to convey our felicitations to the leadership and people of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the National Day,” Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhari told Arab News.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have not only closely cooperated with each other at international fora but have always stood by each other at times of need,” he said.
The prime minister’s special assistant for overseas Pakistanis, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, told Arab News that the relationship with Saudi Arabia — home to over 3 million Pakistani expats — is “eternal” and “will never fail.”
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistanis “sincerely pray for the prosperity and successful future of the kingdom.”
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy unique relationship based on history and has stood test of time,” he told Arab News.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran said she sees Saudi Arabia as her second home and that under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman many progressive initiatives have been undertaken in the kingdom and they are “not only welcomed by the youth in Saudi Arabia but also the entire world.”
“I have lived myself in the kingdom more than 20 years. It has always been the second home to me, and I have witnessed the revolutionary reforms and the progress that has been made by the kingdom in each and every field.”
“Saudi Arabia is always very close to our heart,” Kamran said, adding that Saudi Arabia comes forward with humanitarian aid when the people of Pakistan find themselves in emergency situations.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are strategic allies and have stood shoulder to shoulder during difficult times,” Pakistan’s ambassador to Riyadh, Raja Ali Ejaz, said.
“I would like to appreciate the efforts of the kingdom to professionally handle the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the benevolent gesture of His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz, to provide free medical treatment to expatriates, including Pakistanis, suffering from COVID-19.”
“We, the people of Pakistan, consider Saudi Arabia as our second home. We pledge our loyalty to the kingdom,” Khalid Al Asadi, a Pakistani expatriate who has been living in the kingdom for the past four decades, told Arab News from Medina.
“Saudi nationals here also take us like their brothers. We are celebrating this important occasion with our Saudi brothers here in the kingdom.”