Are you honestly telling me that it was because of Qatar or some other country that Saudi Arabia pulled support from Pakistan at FATF which resulted us in getting Grey listed? You know what the fact of this matter is, it is the fact that we were present at FATF as opposed to many many others on this forum, including you. But let us consider your stand for the time being and wait until the next FATF plenary in 3-4 months and now that SA does have a vote, let's see how SA decides to vote next.
I am NOT influenced by one sided stories, as it happens I wanted us to participate in Saudi wars and defend Saudi Arabia. Not just that, I have posted, many a time on this forum and others, that we should negotiate with Saudi Arabia and raise a half a million strong military composed of Pakistanis, train and arm them and post them permanently in Saudi Arabia at their disposal. This would take our relation to the next step, create a lot of jobs for Pakistanis and create revenue streams for Pakistan while providing Saudi Arabia will a solid, professional and dedicated Military force.
I will do this and will get back to you.
Brother, the GCC is not a single entity let alone a country. It is a 40 year old political organization made up of monarchies that happen to be located in the Arabian Peninsula. Throughout the ages it has developed into a political, economic, military etc. bloc and eased trade, business, create visa-free travel for citizens of the GCC etc. Yet a country like Iraq (that should and WOULD have been a member if not for Saddam) is not a member state, nor Yemen, nor Jordan etc.
I am sure that you have heard about that "little" dispute between KSA, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt etc. on one hand and Qatar and allies on the other hand. I don't want to dwell into the nature of this dispute as it is too complicated and both sides have committed mistakes not to mention that it is completely unnecessary but the conflict exists. Hence KSA and Qatar view things very differently on certain fronts in the region.
Not even going to repeat myself in regards to Oman.
So in conclusion your baseless claim of "KSA as of 2019 having ABSOLUTE control of the GCC" is nonsense with all due respect. Complete and utter nonsense. Not even going to talk about the fact that the GCC is composed of 6 sovereign nations so to claim that GCC = KSA is a fallacy.
Is that not what I wrote from the very beginning before even our discussion? Namely that criticism aimed at KSA's government will be 100% sensible from now on should KSA (now with an independent vote) vote against Pakistan, somehow.
Neither am I. I know Yemen (as a country) very well and the complexity of the Yemeni civil war, the fact that Zaydis of Northern Yemen have close ties to people of Southern KSA on every front etc. That Houthis are a 25 year old cult-like movement who is now hijacking Zaydi (peaceful traditionally) Islam and declaring themselves "leaders and saviors" of the Zaydis of Northern Yemen all while conspiring with an foreign regime (Iran) that is only interested in flaming the flames of the war all while they have no relationship to the Yemeni people, do not share geography nor anything else. Not even going to talk about their non-existent help to Yemen before or after the conflict unlike KSA who has been the economic lifeline of Yemen for numerous decades. Or the fact that KSA supported Northern (Zaydi) Yemen against the communists from the South in the 1960's during the Cold War and the "Arab cold War" between Arab nationalist republics lead by Nasser and anti-communist/socialist monarchies aligned with the West and not the USSR.
You have misunderstood something completely here.
As
@Metanoia can attest I was always AGAINST Pakistani support for KSA or the Arab coalition or the legitimate Yemeni government. You know why? Because it is not your war and because this conflict (while unfortunate in its nature) has served as a great lesson and wake up call for KSA and allies. As well as given us invaluable experience in mountain warfare and all kind of warfare (guerrilla etc.) against the most heavily armed militia in the world in highly challenging territory. Also because I believe that it is a joke for the Arab world, even if we only include the GCC, to rely on anyone with our potential, population, resources, economy, HISTORY and LEGACY (military included) etc.
Please do so.
@The SC I am sure will be helpful with all the links as I was not active on PDF for almost 1 year until some weeks ago.
Bro, why do you care so much? Lol. Just ignore.
Well, we all have our faults.
No harm done. As long as it is civil. Which it has been despite disagreements expect for his uncalled for hidden result that I countered beautifully and objectively. Anyway no harm done, we can all get a bit heated online.
Yes I am aware of the whole diamond saga, however, word on the street is that the Thai government would really want tourists from Saudi and would want a closer cooperation with the Saudi government. This will create a lot of employment opportunities for Thai Muslims (halal tourism).
I prefer Thailand over Malaysia, even though Malaysia is a more developed country. Thailand has that nice balance of being a bit more laid-back, natural, chaotic, and opportunities for being an entrepreneur. The North of Thailand (upwards of Bangkok and all the way to Chiang Mai) are very different than the South (Phuket and all the way down South to Yala/Patani) in terms of people. I prefer the South. The cuisine in the South of Thailand (Yala/Pattani etc.) is quite similar to Malay food, but more spicy. Here is another observation, the ingredients such as the spices, the meat, as well as the vegetables are much better tasting than Malaysia. The people from the Muslim South are quite practising, and deeply respect the Arabs. In fact, when the insurgency was at its peak and the Thai government was cracking down hard, a lot of Muslim Thais went abroad to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi etc to study. I was surprised that some of them can speak fluent Arabic. I know a couple of families who own business in Saudi Arabia as well.
Imran Khan is a man of dignity, honour, and understanding. He's an educated man and someone I am proud to refer to as my Prime Minister. It is evident that the other world leaders also see such qualities in him and accord him the desired respect despite the woeful reputation of Pakistani leaders, Pakistani diplomats, Pakistani people, and the overall nation of Pakistan. InshaAllah I hope he succeeds.
Wonderfully informative post bro.
As you know, KSA hosts one of the largest Rohingya communities in the world and has done so for decades so with Burman being next door to Thailand, it does not surprise me that Thai Muslims have a rather close connection (at least historically but also nowadays it seems as you mention) to KSA and Arabia. They are just rather rare to spot or people might just confuse them for the many Muslim Indonesian, Filipino (naturalized and non-naturalized alike), Malay etc. people that live in KSA. Or maybe at times even the significant Uzbek community, many naturalized as well. Hijaz is truly a melting pot.
Yes, that is my impression of Imran Khan as well. Honesty before anything else. You can see when someone is truly passionate and wants change. I feel the exact same with MbS. Whether the methods or road used by both will succeed only time will tell but I truly hope that they both will as this will no doubt benefit both countries directly or indirectly.
