AFP, Riyadh :Saudi King Salman accused Syrian President Bashar al Assad on Wednesday of having aided the rise of the militant Islamic State group and called for a political settlement with moderate forces to end the war in the country.The solution would be to form “a transitional government made up of moderate opposition forces, ensuring the unity of Syrians and the departure of foreign forces and terrorist organisations”, the king said in an annual speech to the Saudi Shura Council.These organisations “could not have found fertile ground in Syria, had it not been for the Syrian regime’s policies, which have exterminated hundreds of thousands… and displaced millions” of people, he said.Saudi Arabia “calls for a political solution to end Syria’s crisis,” said King Salman who made only a brief appearance at the council.He read only part of the speech, the entire text of which was later released by the official SPA news agency.The Saudi ruler also said he had ordered economic reforms to diversify sources of income and reduce high dependence on oil following a sharp drop in crude prices.”Our vision for economic reform is to increase the efficiency of public spending, utilise economic resources and boost returns from state investment.”I have directed the Council of Economic and Development Affairs to devise the necessary plans, policies and programmes to achieve that,” he told the consultative council.Oil income accounts for more than 90 per cent of public revenues in Saudi Arabia which is the world’s largest exporter of the commodity.It is facing an unprecedented budget crunch as the price of oil has dropped by more than 60pc since mid-2014.The king said the country carried out a large number of mega infrastructure projects and boosted its fiscal reserves in the past several years when oil prices were high.Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday stated that it is against any attempt to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.”Pakistan is also against foreign military intervention in Syria and fully supports the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic,” said Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry.It is pertinent to mention that since the start of the Syrian conflict, Pakistan had maintained a policy of strict neutrality. The statement from the foreign secretary marks a significant shift in Pakistan’s policy on the ongoing Syrian crisis.
