Pakistan’s Middle East balancing act-Why choosing between Saudi Arabia, Iran won’t be easy

Riyadh's cooperation is being sought for bailing out Pakistan in the Reko Diq copper-gold mine project, where Islamabad would like Saudi Arabia to buy its shares while the rest are owned by Tethyan Copper Company. This could result in an initial investment of $1 billion. During one of the recent visits of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Riyadh, the latter indicated a commitment to investing an additional $5 billion. Then there is prospective investment in agriculture and safe energy projects. How the visits were handled indicates Pakistan's priorities. One could even argue that there is little comparison between the two…