JEDDAH: The Saudi Ambassador in Pakistan said Friday that the embassy and consulate are fully operational as per normal and that there are no plans to close either facility. Ambassador Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadir made the remarks in response to reports in the Pakistani press that Saudi diplomatic staff had been ordered to leave Pakistan following the killing of consulate staff member Hassan Al-Qahtani last Monday. “There are no plans to close down the consulate in Karachi, and both the embassy and consulate are open and fully operational,” Al-Ghadir told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. On reports that all functionaries and their families were preparing to depart Pakistan Friday evening, Al-Ghadir said that some diplomats' families had left for the Kingdom for their summer holidays. “This is a usual thing every year. A special flight was arranged in order for them to avoid having to compete for spaces on the Umrah flights which are heavily booked up,” he said. The ambassador reiterated his condemnation of the murder of Al-Qahtani, describing it as a “wicked and heinous act of terrorism”, and urged Pakistani security authorities to bring the culprits to justice as soon as possible. “Saudi-Pakistani relations are deep-rooted and will not be affected by this incident,” he said. “Rahman Malik, the Pakistani Minister of Interior, is briefing the Saudi embassy on all developments as the investigation proceeds.”
