Leave Pakistan alone

It is not a punching bag!

In March 2015, a coalition of regional forces led by Saudi Arabia conducted airstrikes across Yemen in order to subdue Houthi rebel forces allegedly discreetly backed by Iran. The aerial bombardments and the civil war caused mass emigration from the country in which a large number of foreigners belonging to Pakistan, India and other countries were rescued by the governments of Pakistan and China. According to Saudi officials, the rebels in Yemen posed a great threat to Saudi Arabia and had the capability to ‘attack’ the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

Why would the Houthi forces want to attack the holiest sites of Islam when they themselves belong to the very same community and are probably aware of the dire consequences? It turned out that the war is actually about Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Iran, which was apparently trying to flex its muscles across the Arabian Peninsula through proxy warfare. Such kind of proxy warfare is a common phenomenon as we have already witnessed it during various periods of the Cold War in the past and also in Afghanistan and Ukraine recently. The Arab-Israeli Wars, the Indo-Pakistani Wars and the Vietnam War are classic examples of such warfare. However, the only difference is that guerrilla forces have become more active and formidable through state backing in modern warfare.

Islamabad and Riyadh do have an agreement on protecting Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity but it’s only under the condition that the Hejaz area is gravely threatened

Coming back to the Yemen crisis, Saudi Arabia constantly demanded Pakistan to send troops for fighting in Yemen since the inception of the war. Initially, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seemed ready to meet the demands of the House of Saud but problems arose when apparently the military establishment showed reluctance. The military had valid reservations as the domestic consequences could have been disastrous for Pakistan in the long run, resulting in increased sectarian violence owing to the sensitivities of the Yemeni conflict. Pakistan has already gone through such appeasements in the past that caused a great deal of damage to national security. Hence, it was a wise decision by the military of not stepping into this misadventure. Pakistani public was also against such decisions and eventually the parliament too decided not to send troops.

Islamabad and Riyadh do have an agreement on protecting Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity but it’s only under the condition that the Hejaz area is gravely threatened. In reality, no such threat exists for the moment and it is unjustified of the Saudis to press Pakistan on troops contribution. Pakistan should pursue to resolve this matter diplomatically and the recent talks between the two countries’ top leadership in Riyadh should pave way to diplomacy instead of escalation in Yemen.

The Saudis need to understand that Pakistan has gone through a lot of difficulties especially in the past eight years and cannot bear to fight another war in another land for another country. The scourge of terrorism has almost crippled the Pakistani economy with lack of adequate foreign investment and the people here yearn for peace and prosperity.

We do not remember at all the last time the Saudis actually helped Pakistan fight the menace of terrorism, as they never volunteered to provide troops for the cause. Pakistan has always helped the Arabs in their time of crises and the contributions are immense. In the past, Pakistan has not only sent a large labour force from the 1970s onwards to help build the sprawling economies of the Gulf States but had also sent pilots and aircraft to hold back the Israeli onslaught during the Arab-Israeli Wars.

The Pan Islamic ideas of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia helped forge a strong bond between the Gulf states and Pakistan. Furthermore, Agha Hasan Abedi’s visionary ideas led to the establishment of a strong Pakistani community in the gulf countries. Regardless of all these positive steps, the Pakistani community had to face intense humiliation at the hands of some Arab states such as Saudi Arabia who still treat the overseas Pakistani community as if they are not worthy to be called humans.

The Pan Islamic ideas of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia helped forge a strong bond between the Gulf states and Pakistan

What was more appalling was the outburst by the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Dr Anwar Gargash about a month ago on Pakistan’s refusal to join the Saudi coalition. His threat to Pakistan of ‘paying a heavy price’ was quite disrespectful given the cordial relations the two countries have. As a small country that has a large presence of Pakistani expatriates and mainly depends on the labour force from South Asia for its development needs, UAE’s state official should not have given such a demeaning statement. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar’s response on the matter was commendable but it would have been even better if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave a befitting reply. This situation shows that the much talked about ‘brotherly’ relations between some Arab states and Pakistan is nothing more than a myth due to the above explained reasons.

The US war on terror and Saudi funding for some religious extremist groups in Pakistan has caused more than enough damage to Pakistanis. Pakistan is not an international ‘punching bag’ that should clean up or bear the mess of other states. It only wants peace and prosperity, which the current civil-military leadership is striving to provide. The recent influx of multi-billion dollars Chinese investment for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strong commitment, is the real key to the success and stability of Pakistan. Unfortunately, no ‘brotherly’ Arab state or even the US for that matter chose to consider similar deals and always tried to drag Pakistan into a security quagmire. Economic security is the most important aspect for a peaceful environment and Pakistan should focus on achieving this goal rather than fight others’ messy wars. The Saudis should look elsewhere to fight their wars and leave Pakistan alone.