Pak premier, army chief leave for S Arabia for security talks

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today left for Saudi Arabia on a three-day official visit to hold important security talks with the oil-rich gulf country, which also leads a 34-nation Islamic coalition against terrorism.
Foreign Office (FO) said the prime minister was invited by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to witness the military exercise 'North Thunder', where a large number of other Heads of State have also been invited to witness the closing ceremony.
Nawaz, who is accompanied by the army chief Raheel Sharif, will meet the Saudi top leaders during his stay from March 9-11 and will offer to expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia in its fight against-terrorism, the FO statement said.

Pakistan is part of the 34-nation coalition of Islamic countries cobbled together by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism.
Troops from about two dozen countries, including Pakistan, are participating in the 'North Thunder' exercise, in the northern region of Saudi Arabia.
The main goal of the exercise is to improve training in responding to threats posed by terrorist groups.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy multi-faceted cooperation, including in the fields of defence and counter-terrorism.
Pakistan has said several times that it will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Saudi Arabia against any threat to territorial integrity and sovereignty, the statement added.