...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...say they will discuss extending the term of a $3 billion loan to help Islamabad’s faltering economy.
The Gulf nation has long been an intelligence partner of Pakistain as well as a regular source of financial relief for successive governments.
The latest sign of support follows a visit to Saudi Arabia by new Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab..., who has inherited a crippling national debt, galloping inflation and a feeble rupee.
A joint statement says the kingdom would continue to support the Pak economy and had discussed "augmenting the $3 billion deposit with the central bank through term extension or otherwise."
Saudi Arabia also pledged "to further enhance the financing of petroleum products" at a time when the South Asian country is suffering from frequent power cuts.
The statement comes after recent talks between Pakistain and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the release of funds under an existing $6 billion aid program that had stalled due to concerns about the pace of reforms.
The cash-strapped nation’s foreign exchange reserves plunged below $11 billion last month.