Sharif, army chief meet Saudi King to discuss Gulf crisis

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to meet King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz as part of efforts to help resolve the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East.

A brief statement issued by the PM House prior to his departure said the visit was taking place "in context of emergent situation in the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries."

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz are also part of the delegation, reports the Express Tribune.

Upon his arrival in Jeddah, Sharif was received by Governor Makkah Prince Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz.

Several Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, earlier this month severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and cut off their air, sea and land links to, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism in the Middle East.

Pakistan had expressed serious concerns over the growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Qatar as Sharif - during his visit to Kazakhstan - said Pakistan would do all it could to amicably resolve the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.