on September 14 that knocked out half of its daily oil production, Saudi Arabia assured India it was committed to meet the country's energy security needs.

Imran Khan had spent two days in Riyadh on his way to New York, and performed Umrah with his wife Bushra Bibi at Mecca. He had also flown in the Prince's special plane to New York, in an effort to highlight the close ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status, and bifurcated it into Union Territories.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the move and expelled the Indian envoy. Since then, Pakistan has been trying to rally international supportagainst India on the issue.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir and UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Islamabad last month in the midst of escalating tension between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. India also launched a diplomatic outreach to apprise major countries about its decisions on Jammu and Kashmir.

Saudi Arabia, known to be a key ally of Pakistan, has been supporting India in its campaign to rid the region of terrorism and pledged to extend all cooperation to effectively deal with the challenge. Both countries already signed several agreements in the field of security, including an extradition treaty.

During Salman's visit here in February, the two countries decided to constitute a comprehensive security dialogue and set up a joint