ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 2 (UPI) -- Pakistan needn't worry about any "negative" impact from Saudi Arabia's red carpet welcome to India's prime minister, the Dawn newspaper said in an editorial.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday concluded a weekend visit to Saudi Arabia, which has close relations with Pakistan. India and Saudi Arabia concluded an extradition treat and signed agreements on security, energy and defense.
Saying Pakistanis need not "worry about losing out in a zero-sum game," Dawn said, "The Saudis were simply acknowledging an emerging reality: that India is establishing itself as a big regional power, and trade with it is becoming increasingly important for other countries."
Dawn said Afghanistan figured only marginally in talks with Singh, though India "will almost certainly be hoping that Saudi Arabia will, when the time comes, try and placate Pakistan over India's future role in Afghanistan."
"Even so, it seems quite far-fetched that Saudi Arabia will side with India and veto Pakistan on anything to do with Afghanistan. The Saudis know that a period of uncertainty lies ahead for many of the areas they have an interest in, from Iraq to Yemen and Afghanistan to Iran, and they will want to avoid introducing radical new elements in the most stable of their relationships," such as those with Pakistan.
The editorial rejected speculation the Saudis have leaned on Pakistan to move against the Afghan Taliban.
"While there certainly appears to have been a 'shift' in Pakistan's policy on the Afghan Taliban, two other elements have probably played a bigger role in making that shift possible: renewed American pressure on Pakistan … and the Pakistan army's internal perceptions of the threat that the Afghan Taliban pose to this country."
