Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has expressed his concerns over the decision made by the Government of Maldives to sever ties with Qatar, stating that systematically severing ties with Muslim nations was deeply saddening.

He made the statement in a tweet posted in Dhivehi, following the Government’s decision announced on Monday.

In addition to Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE had also cut ties with the State of Qatar.

Saudi Arabia’s decision came after the Qatari Emir Sheikh Thamim bin Hamad al-Thani sent a message over Qatari national television, which was highly critical of US President Donald Trump. In the message, he criticized the Saudi regime for labeling Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran as terrorists, adding that Iran was still a power of the Islamic world.

Following the Government’s decision to sever ties with Qatar, social media had been awash with criticism of the decision, with many claiming that this was done at the behest of Saudi Arabia.