ISLAMABAD:
A high-level Pakistani defence delegation was about to leave for Saudi Arabia on Monday as the government in Islamabad considers whether to join a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
The government evacuated about 500 Pakistanis by plane from Yemen on Sunday during a brief pause in air strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition against Houthi rebels, a Saudi military spokesman said.
The delegation to be led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz, was due to leave either on Monday or in the next few days, security officials told foreign sources.
“There can be no decision (on joining the military campaign) before the delegation’s visit,” one official said.
He said there were already around 750-800 Pakistani servicemen in Saudi Arabia but none were combat troops.
He declined to comment about their duties and it was not immediately clear what kind of military support Saudi Arabia was seeking.
Pakistan is a regional ally of Saudi Arabia, but has yet to commit itself publicly to military support to Riyadh’s campaign in Yemen.
“Saudi Arabia had always helped Pakistan like an elder brother,” Asif told a seminar in Lahore.
“Pakistan will extend all support to Saudi Arabia if the country’s security is threatened.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a telephone call with Saudi King Salman on Saturday, offered “all potentials of the Pakistan army”, media quoted the Saudi Press Agency as saying.
‘No boots on the ground’
The delegation is going to Riyadh to access the current situation in Yemen in order to decide as to what extent Pakistan can cooperate with Saudi Arabia.
The delegation was originally scheduled to visit to Riyadh on March 27 but the trip was delayed due to Saudi leaders’ preoccupation with Arab League summit in Egypt.
The civil-military leadership in an emergency huddle last week concluded that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan.
However, officials are insisting that reports claiming Pakistan committed troops for the military alliance are speculative.
Sources said Pakistan may provide all the necessary support to Saudi Arabia for fighting the rebels but it may not send boots on the ground in Yemen due to its negative fallout.