Don’t rush into Saudi-led military alliance

Parliament should not be side-stepped

Without getting the matter debated in parliament the government has taken the unwise decision to join the Saudi-led military alliance.

The Foreign Secretary first expressed surprise at Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s statement regarding the formation of a 34-member military alliance including Pakistan. He said that he had asked his ambassador in Riyadh to seek clarification regarding the inclusion of Pakistan in the list. It appeared that the Foreign Secretary was not taken into confidence by those who make the foreign policy. A day later Pakistan announced joining the alliance. “Yes, we are part of the coalition. We have decided, and we welcome it,” the Foreign Office spokesman said.

Do those who decided to join the “military alliance” know its implications?

The statement about the military alliance was issued by the Saudi deputy crown prince. Mohammad bin Salman is no ordinary person. He was appointed Saudi defence minister and deputy crown prince by his father King Salman last year and soon after assigned the mission to put an end to the Houthi rebellion in Yemen with the hope that the victory would raise the status of the 33-year old prince among rival princes. It was supposed that he would be appointed later as crown prince on the basis of his military achievement.

Do those who decided to join the “military alliance” know its implications?

With the Saudi adventure in Yemen proving too costly in human and monetary terms, the prince’s political advancement has become problematic. He has now been given a new and even more ambitious task, bringing together 34 states to form a military alliance against the terrorists.

Meanwhile Da’ish continues to play havoc in Iraq, Syria and in countries outside the region. There is evidence to show that the terrorists who launched the bloody attack in Paris had been dispatched by the network. Crossing over to Turkey which has yet to fortify its border with Syria despite American protests they managed to reach their target and carried out their gruesome task.

While Da’ish continues to launch strikes, none of the Gulf countries is inclined to confront it.

The Saudis’ real concerns still remain the Houthis in Yemen and Shi’a regimes in the region. Da’ish has two sides. It is a terrorist outfit and thus a potential threat to the Sheikhdoms. But being quintessentially anti-Shi’a it is seen in the Gulf as an enemy of the enemy and thus a friend. The attitude of the Gulf countries is therefore ambivalent towards the deadliest terrorist network of the present times. Da’ish too takes care to strengthen the ambivalence by concentrating only on attacking Shi’a mosques in Saudi Arabia.

Instead of joining hands to eradicate the threat of Da’ish, which looms large over the region, the Saudis plunged into the war in Yemen followed by the Sheikhdoms. But for good sense prevailing in Pakistan, they would have dragged Islamabad too into the quagmire.

As the war in Syria drearily continues, with US air strikes increasing against Da’ish to a new high in November, Washington has grown increasingly exasperated at the lack of support from its allies in the Gulf. It has made frequent and urgent calls for the Gulf states to do more against the deadly terrorist network.

While the US-backed Kurds, and Iran-backed Shi’a militias in Iraq have taken the fight to Da’ish, there are no Sunni Arab boots on the ground.

The Saudis have other priorities: dismantling the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and confronting Iran even if it requires seeking Israel’s help. Saudi Arabia includes Hezbolla, the Shi’a militia in Lebanon, and the Iranian militias fighting Da’ish in Iraq in the terrorists’ list.

Besides a sectarian definition of terrorism, the Saudi royalty also considers movements for rights in their country as well as in neighbouring Sheikhdoms as terrorist activities. A recent legislation in the Kingdom has branded peaceful opposition activists and reformers, whether online or in the street, as suspected “terrorists” and a security risk to the state.

This is not Pakistan’s concept of fighting terrorism. Pakistan cannot afford to enter into a war led by a country which defines terrorism from sectarian and authoritarian angles.

An editorial published in the Gulf News on December 16 indicates clearly how Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies view the proposed military alliance. In the words of the editorial, “Saudi Arabia is to lead a new alliance of Islamic nations that will tackle the blight of terrorism. From a joint operations centre to be established in Riyadh, the alliance of 34 nations will provide military resources, intelligence and strategic efforts to counter and eliminate terrorist threats from Da’ish (the self-proclaimed Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant) and any other group that threatens peace, security and stability.” Thus those agitating for equal rights of citizenship irrespective of sect or gender or demand democratic freedoms are considered to be the enemies of peace, security and stability and labelled as terrorists by the absolute monarchies of the Gulf.

This has led Amnesty International to question whether this new military alliance could be used to further restrict human rights in the region. Is the alliance in fact meant to gather support from other countries like Pakistan to suppress movements for rights in countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain?

Interestingly not all the 57 members of the OIC are a part of the alliance

Interestingly not all the 57 members of the OIC are a part of the alliance. The alliance is meant to be purely a Sunni affair. Shi’a majority Iran and Iraq along with their ally Syria have been excluded from the alliance. A number of important Muslim countries have declined to join it on account of the suspected aims of the Saudi leadership. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country is one.

Arrmanatha Nasir, foreign ministry spokesman for Indonesia, said the Saudi foreign minister had approached Jakarta twice in the past few days to ask it to join a “centre to coordinate against extremism and terrorism”. However, “What Saudi Arabia has announced is a military alliance. It is thus important for Indonesia to first have details before deciding to support it,” he said. Indonesia’s Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan clarified later, “We don’t want to join a military alliance.”

Malaysia, another Muslim country which was put by Riyadh in the list of the 34 participants has also denied taking part in the military alliance. Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told journalists that Kuala Lumpur will not join Riyadh, however it will continue to be part of the international fight against terrorism.

Algeria, another important Muslim country, is out of the alliance. So is Oman, which keeps a balanced relationship with both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is a democracy. What is more it is a country with fairly large Shi’a community duly represented in all institutions of the state. It cannot join an alliance with dubious motives and a divisive program. The issue has to be referred to parliament which should thoroughly debate the pros and cons before the final decision is taken.