Three options for Pakistan

Following the best course

Around 500 stranded Pakistanis have been evacuated from Yemen. With the initiation of the air strikes, the expatriates are facing hardships in reaching airports. There is a need to ensure the safe return of each and every Pakistani from the war zone. Any casualties due to attacks from the belligerents would have negative impact on the government’s standing.

A delegation led by Defence Minister is scheduled to visit Riyadh to assess the situation after which Pakistan is supposed to take decisions concerning the ongoing war in Yemen. Islamabad has three options: It can altogether refuse any involvement in the operation; it can join the ongoing operation; or it can arbitrate between the warring parties.

Pakistan has too close a relationship with Saudi Kingdom to remain unconcerned. Both countries have helped each other over decades. Pakistan has provided military aid and expertise and helped build the Royal Saudi Air Force. PAF pilots flew RSAF Lightnings that repulsed a South Yemeni incursion in 1969. In the 1970s and 1980s, up to 15,000 Pakistani troops were stationed near the Israeli-Jordanian-Saudi border. Saudi Kingdom has provided jobs to over two million Pakistani workers and has also supplied oil to Islamabad at times of need on deferred payment.

It is equally unrealistic for Pakistan to join any offensive which is part of a wider conflict with Iran. Iran is a friendly neighbour and over twenty percent of Pakistanis reportedly belong to the Shia community which has close spiritual links with Iran. Getting involved in a war with Iran, even indirectly, would activate sectarian fault-lines in the country.

The only option for Pakistan is to act as an arbitrator. Instead of getting stuck in the Yemen quagmire like Egypt from 1962 to 1970, a more sensible way is to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table. The differences between the Saudi Kingdom and Iran too should be resolved by Pakistan acting as an honest broker. What remains to be tested is Nawaz Sharif’s ability to perform the task.