Pakistan: Suspects in 2011 Killing of Saudi Diplomat Fled to Iran

Pakistani police at the scene of the crime in 2011. (AFP)
Pakistani police at the scene of the crime in 2011. (AFP)
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Pakistan: Suspects in 2011 Killing of Saudi Diplomat Fled to Iran

Pakistani police at the scene of the crime in 2011. (AFP)
Pakistani police at the scene of the crime in 2011. (AFP)

Islamabad has asked authorities in Tehran to assist in the arrest of the suspects behind the assassination of Saudi diplomat Hassan al-Qahtani in Pakistan's Karachi in 2011.

Reports have said the killers had fled to Iran.

The Kingdom's ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf al-Malki, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia was informed by Pakistan that the murderers were indeed in Iran.

Saudi authorities are dedicating all of their efforts to cooperate with Pakistan to arrest them and allow justice to take its course, he added.

A Saudi committee has been formed to tackle the case and it flew to Islamabad two months ago.

New leads in the case had emerged, prompting Pakistan in November to request Iran's assistance to locate the suspects, who have been identified as Ali Mustehsan, Raza Imam and Syed Waqar Ahmed

Qahtani was a diplomat at the Saudi consulate in Karachi.

He was killed after gunmen riding on two motorbikes opened fire at him in his car as he was headed to work.



Saudi Arabia Condemns Far-Right Israeli Minister’s Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 A general view of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Muslim worshippers attend the last Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem, March 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Muslim worshippers attend the last Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem, March 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Saudi Arabia Condemns Far-Right Israeli Minister’s Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 A general view of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Muslim worshippers attend the last Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem, March 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Muslim worshippers attend the last Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem, March 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Wednesday the storming of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry slammed the repeated “flagrant Israeli violations of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

It also condemned Israeli forces for attacking an UNRWA clinic in northern Gaza, saying it was another in a series of attacks by Israel against UN and relief agencies.

“The Kingdom condemns the continued Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law, underscoring its categorical rejection of everything that may undermine the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites,” said the ministry.

It called on the international community to “put a stop to the Israeli war machine that has no regard for any human values or law or international norms.”

It warned that the international community’s failure to deter these dangerous and ongoing violations will undermine opportunities to achieve peace and undermine the credibility of international law, as well as impact regional and global security and stability.