Saudi not funding 'extremist mindset' in Pakistan: Embassy

Saudi Arabia today dismissed a Pakistani minister's remarks that the oil-rich kingdom was funding "extremist mindset" and terror outfits in the country through religious seminaries.
In a rare public statement, the Saudi embassy in Islamabad said any funding from the Saudi government is provided after it is approved by the Pakistan government.
"A section of the media has been propagating a false impression that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is funding the extremist mindset in Pakistan through its financial support for religious seminaries," the embassy said.
In an unusual outburst, Pakistan's minister for Inter- Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada in January accused Saudi Arabia of bankrolling terror outfits by distributing money to promote extremism.

The minister had alleged that Saudi Arabia was funding several outfits in Pakistan to promote its Wahabbi ideology, a form of Islam practised in the kingdom and developed only in the 18th century.
Saudi Arabia is considered close to Pakistan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has personal ties with the Saudi royal family.

The statement clarified that "when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Pakistan) informs the embassy in writing that the financial assistance is in the interest of public welfare, the assistance is provided to the applicant... The assistance has always been beyond any sectarian considerations."
The issue of Saudi funding also echoed in the Pakistani parliament when Minister of State for Interior Baligur Rehman informed the Senate on January 30 that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran and the UAE were giving aid to religious seminaries.

Saudi Arabia has been under severe criticism for allegedly providing donations to individuals and religious groups.
The issue gained momentum in the wake of a series of terror attacks in the country, including the Peshawar massacre.
On December 16, Taliban gunmen attacked an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 150 people, mostly children, in the most horrific attack in Pakistan's history.
A US diplomatic cable, published by the WikiLeaks, said financial support estimated at USD 100 million a year was making its way from Gulf Arab states to an extremist recruitment network in Pakistan's Punjab province.