That little matter of beheading & dismembering journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October (as well as beheading many other dissidents) has not impeded Mohammad bin Salman’s role in international politics one iota. He was a welcome attendee at the 2018 G20 summit in Argentina last November/December, was just feted in Pakistan by reform Prime Minister Imran Khan with fighter jet flyovers, 21-gun salutes, banners in the streets, red carpet receptions & honor guard ceremonies, & is now in India for talks on terrorism, investment, & trade. In return for not mentioning Saudi Arabia’s oppressive & murderous politics, Pakistan signed $20-billion in deals with the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia claims it will try to broker tensions between Pakistan & India but of course that could only be at the expense of the Kashmiri freedom struggle & by denouncing terrorism in Kashmir, despite the fact that there only a few hundred armed militants in Kashmir. The point is to impugn struggles against colonialism & occupation by exaggerating the scale of terrorism in Kashmir. MBS & Modi are expected to set up a Strategic Partnership Council to plan joint naval exercises & defense cooperation. This would be in concert with a similar cooperation set up last year between India & the US & between India & Israel. MBS will be off to China next in the Saudi campaign to forge partnerships for trade, investment, & against any popular initiatives for democracy. The irony of Modi feting MBS while conducting pogroms against Muslims speaks to the real purpose of the Islamophobic war on terror: not Islam theologically so much as political resistance to tyranny among Muslims.
(Photo on left is Imran Khan with MBS & on right is Modi with MBS)