Saudi King admitted to hospital for medical tests

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz left a hospital on Friday after undergoing “reassuring” medical tests, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

A statement issued by Royal Court today said he was undergoing medical tests at Riyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital. In a subsequent update, SPA said he left today left today after “completing the medical examinations, which were reassuring”.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had expressed deep concern at the earlier development. 

“The people of Pakistan hold his majesty in the highest esteem. We join our Saudi brothers and sisters in praying for his majesty’s swift and complete recovery to full health, vitality, and continued leadership,” he said in a post on X.

According to Gulf News, King Salman, who rules the world’s largest oil exporter, had received medical care in 2024 for lung inflammation.

He was also hospitalised in May 2022, when he went in for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week for other tests and “some time to rest”. He was also admitted to hospital in March 2022 to undergo what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker and in 2020, he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.

King Salman is the seventh ruler of Saudi Arabia. He was pledged allegiance following the passing of the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

King Salman is the 25th son of the founding King Abdulaziz Al Saud and has long been regarded as a key custodian of the royal family’s affairs, as well as a trusted adviser to several Saudi kings over the decades.

Born in Riyadh in 1935, King Salman received his early education at the Princes’ School in Riyadh, established by King Abdulaziz to educate his sons.

There, he studied religious and modern sciences and memorised the Holy Quran in full.

His education combined formal religious learning under prominent scholars with extensive self-education, particularly in Islamic studies, history, politics, and literature.

King Salman began his public service career as acting governor of Riyadh in 1954 and was appointed governor of the Riyadh Region in 1963, a position he held for several decades.

Throughout his career, he chaired and supported numerous charitable committees and initiatives, contributing to humanitarian relief efforts and supporting causes across the Arab and Islamic worlds.