Pakistan Today

Pak putting on boots for Yemen

Pakistan on Thursday decided in principle to join the coalition forces to crush the rebellion by Houthi militia in Yemen, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flying today (Friday) to Turkey to meet and discuss a joint strategy with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has already announced support for the Saudi offensive.

Government sources told Pakistan Today that the decision to extend full support to the Saudi offensive was taken at a high-level meeting held in the federal capital with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair.

“We have decided to join the coalition forces to crush rebels in Yemen who have overthrown a legitimate government. The prime minister is leaving for a one-day visit to Turkey on Friday (today) where he would not only gain diplomatic support for Yemen crisis but he would also discuss a joint strategy to handle the possible public backlash over joining the coalition forces,” the source added.

Public sentiments are running high across Pakistan and politicians, analysts and civil society activists have been voicing their concerns over joining Saudi alliance to attack inside Yemen. The media is also against joining the Saudi bandwagon and people on the social, electronic and print media have been cautioning the government not to join coalition forces like “mercenaries”, as it would be a mistake which may trigger sectarian tensions inside Pakistan.

“Our stance is that no one could allow non-state actors to take up arms to challenge a legitimate government. We regard the Houthi rebels like Taliban against whom Pakistan’s brave forces are conducting operation,” the sources said.

The meeting decided to seek political support to back its decision. For the purpose, the sources said, the prime minister had summoned a joint session of the Parliament to get the government’s decisions endorsed.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif already has full backing from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Asif Ali Zardari who had urged the premier to support Saudi offensive against the non-state actors in Yemen.

The only thorn in the way of the federal government was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan who had strongly opposed joining the Saudi offensive. However, Khan also softened his stance on Thursday, saying that the government should take up the role of “peacemaker” in the Yemen crisis.

JOINING THE OFFENSIVE:

Thursday’s high-level meeting was given detailed briefing by Chief of General Staff Lt General Ashfaq Nadeem about the requirements tabled by his counterpart in Saudi Arabia.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Advisor to PM Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, acting chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Khan Hasham bin Saddique, foreign secretary and other senior officers.

“It seems that Saudi Arabia wants Pakistan to provide seasoned pilots who could lead air strikes with foolproof accuracy, hitting strategic installations of rebels inside Yemen. Moreover, ground troops are required to fight pitched battles inside Yemen’s difficult terrain,” a source said.

The source said that during the meeting, the military leadership informed the prime minister on risks involved in joining the coalition while it was also informed that securing the Saudi regime was one of the top strategic interests of Pakistan.

Though the meeting decided to join the coalition in principle, it was decided that the political leadership would be contacted to seek advice besides acquiring political support.

During the meeting, the prime minister condemned the action taken by rebels in Yemen to overthrow a legitimate government, and called upon all the factions to resolve all issues peacefully.

An official handout also hinted at the decisions reached during the meeting.

“The meeting affirmed that Pakistan’s national interest will remain the guiding principle of Pakistan’s policy. Given the close historical cultural and religious affinities between the peoples of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was reaffirmed that any isolation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity will evoke a strong response from Pakistan,” the statement said.

“Pakistan condemns the actions by non-state actors in Yemen to overthrow a legitimate government, and calls upon the warring factions to resolve all issues peacefully,” the statement added, hinting for the first time that the government had decided to follow the version of Saudi Arabia on the conflict, terming the rebel militia as “non-state actors”.

The prime minister told the meeting that any isolation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would ignite a strong response from Pakistan and that concerned authorities would stay engaged with Saudi counterparts in this regard. He stressed on the close historical cultural and religious affinities between the peoples of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

JOINT SESSION SUMMONED:

The prime minister further emphasised that all decisions in the matter will be taken in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan. To this end, the prime minister has advised the president to convene a joint session of Parliament on Monday to discuss this matter of “national importance”.

Defence Minister Khwaja Asif would brief the joint session of the Parliament on Monday on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, informing about the current issues pertaining to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and Pakistan’s involvement into Yemen.

Speaking on the matter, the defence minister said that Saudi Arabia hopes that Pakistan will “fully support” their offensive in Yemen and PM Sharif wanted to play a role in resolution of conflict.

The minister also urged the Muslims not to prove “self destructive” by indulging in debate on Shia-Sunni sectarian divide.

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