Re-setting Pak-Saudi relations? May 11, 2021 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has just returned from a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS). The two countries share a long and historic fraternal relationship. Not least when King Abdullah provided oil to Pakistan for free and on credit to ease the burden of economic sanctions imposed on the country following its nuclear tests in 1998. However, ties have been strained since 2015, when Pakistan’s Parliament voted to remain neutral in the Saudi-Iranian proxy war in Yemen and subsequently refused to send troops into the conflict. Behind-the-scenes, the Saudis took this to mean that Islamabad was siding with Tehran. In reality, Pakistan did not wish to risk tensions with neighbouring Iran.