ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has handed over two mosques as a ‘gift’ to the people of Pakistan, Arab News quoted the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, as saying.

The kingdom donated the King Abdul Aziz Mosque in the city of Mansehra, KP, which can accommodate more than 10,000 worshipers, and the King Fahd Mosque in Muzaffarabad with a capacity of accommodating over 6,000 worshipers, according to the Saudi Embassy.

The mosques contain spacious courtyards and have distinct designs, inspired by the two mosques in the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madinah.

“These two holy mosques, one in Mansehra and the other in Muzaffarabad, were built by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a gift to the people of Pakistan,” Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki told Arab News on the sidelines of the handing over ceremony in Islamabad.

“Both countries enjoy historic and deep relations with economic, military and cultural cooperation. These mosques also showed the depth of religious and cultural ties.”

Following the 2005 earthquake, the kingdom had completed many welfare projects in the affected areas of Azad Kashmir and KP. “These included hospitals, houses, schools, water and sanitation [projects].”

Saudi Arabia wants a strong and prosperous Pakistan, and has always stood with it through thick and thin, Ambassador Al-Malki said, adding that the kingdom has recently pledged a $3 billion deposit and $1.2 billion oil facility.

Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Noor ul Haq Qadri said this ‘gift’ was a clear manifestation of Pakistan’s longstanding historical, spiritual and religious relations with Saudi Arabia.