by King Abdullah, who set up an Allegiance Council, a family forum with the authority to choose the crown prince and appoint the next king.
The decision created a rift within the royal family. The sons of Princess Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, one of the influential wives of founder King Ibn Saud, felt it was done to deprive them of power.
As a result, when Abdullah died in January 2015, the Sudairi faction acted swiftly by sacking his sons, dismissing court officials and declaring Salman as the king. After the turmoil subsided and the kingdom stabilised in two years, Salman's son MBS, was anointed as Crown Prince in 2017.
In the last three years, MBS, known for his progressive and pro-West outlook, has consolidated power in an unprecedented way. After he was declared Crown Prince, he had many of the country's most influential businessmen detained. After centralising the decision-making authority, he launched a series of economic and social reforms in the country in view of the changing energy dynamics in the world.
He has taken several initiatives to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on petrodollars as the US is rapidly becoming self-reliant in energy and scaling up its production. MBS is encouraging promotion of private sector with a focus on tourism and high skill based jobs in view of the young population, which forms a majority in the country.
Apart from that, MBS has earned a name for himself for opening up Saudi Arabia socially, with greater freedoms for women like the right to drive cars and to travel and work without the consent of a male guardian. The entertainment industry including music and sports, otherwise forbidden by conservative clerics, has also begun to thrive ever since MBS curbed their power with a legal order and several arrests.
However, the assassination of a Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 damaged the reputation of the Crown Prince, internationally. His rivals within the royal family, found the opportunity to intensify their opposition against King Salman and him.
The anti-MBS faction in the House of Saud, recently declared their support for King Salman's brother Prince Ahmed and urged him to lead the country.
Sources said that Pakistan is now backing the Prince Ahmed faction in the Saudi royal family. However, 34-year-old MBS, as of today, continues to enjoy the support of the Saudi Army and intelligence besides the backing of the US President Donald Trump, sources said.
( With inputs from IANS )
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