Saudi oil subsidy at stake over Musharraf exit

SAUDI Arabia thrust itself into the Pervez Musharraf impeachment drama last night when it warned that a huge oil subsidy that provides life support for the moribund Pakistan economy was at risk unless he was given an “exit with dignity”.

…No country exerts greater influence than Saudi Arabia on Pakistan, which is frequently seen as a vassal state of the House of Saud, and the appearance on the scene of Prince Muqrin, acting as a satrap, is seen as a potentially decisive development in the crisis.

The cut-rate Saudi Oil Facility is worth more than $US5 billion ($5.8 billion) a year in deferred payments and without it, analysts say, Pakistan’s economy would fall into an even deeper hole.

The Australian