Saudis lobbying with PPP to get Pakistan on board 34-nation military alliance

• Saudi envoy tells Bilawal Bhutto Kingdom has great respect for PPP, wants party to support its initiative in parliament

In a major breakthrough, Saudi Arabia has approached the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for its political support for Pakistan Army’s practical participation in the 34-nation alliance of Muslim countries to fight “terrorism”.

Pakistan has confirmed joining the Saudi Arabia-led 34-nation coalition against terrorism; however, it said the extent of participation in the counter-terrorism activities was yet to be decided.

“Yes, we are part of the coalition. We have decided, and we welcome it,” Foreign Office Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said in response to a question whether Pakistan was part of the alliance announced by Saudi Arabia against terrorism.

In a follow-up move, Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Marzouk Al-Zahrani called on Bilawal at Zardari House last week to woo PPP’s support for Pakistan army’s practical participation in the alliance. Senator Sherry Rehman and former NA deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi were also present at these meeting.

Well placed sources in the PPP informed Pakistan Today that during the meeting, the Saudi envoy conveyed to Bilawal a message from Saudi Monarch, King Salman Bin Abdelaziz, asking the PPP to play its due role in shaping the public opinion in support of Pakistan armed forces joining the Saudi Arabian initiative for the 34-nation alliance against terrorism.

In recent past, Pakistan had flatly refused joining of its armed forces in the Saudi-led alliance against Yemen. Saudi Monarchs and other Gulf states had sent strong messages of dissent to Islamabad but failed to woo Pakistan.

“During the key meeting, the Saudi envoy told Bilawal that Saudi Arabia always had a great respect for the top leaders of the PPP. He said that some circles were unnecessarily clubbing the Saudi Arabian government with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N),” said a source in the PPP who is privy to the details of the meeting.

“The ambassador told Bilawal that the relations between the PPP and Saudi Arabian royal family dated back to 1970s when King Faisal and PPP founding leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had led the Muslim Ummah from the front. The envoy said that it was again time for the leadership of PPP and Saudi Arabia to jointly wage war against the terrorists who were defaming the Muslim Ummah,” the source added.

The source said that the Saudi regime has sought PPP’s support if the matter of Pakistan’s inclusion in the 34-nation alliance comes to the parliament for debate as PPP’s chairwoman Benazir Bhutto had also been martyred by terrorists.

“Saudia wants the PPP to vote for the resolution as the PPP enjoys majority in the Senate while PPP’s Khurshid Shah is leader of the opposition in the national assembly. So the Saudi regime wants the PPP to back any resolution if it comes to voting,” the source added.

Asked whether Bilawal Zardari had assured the envoy that he would extend help to the Saudi case, the source said that Bilawal had not given any commitment to Ambassador Abdullah Marzouk, saying that the matter would be decided by the party’s top leadership.

Meanwhile, while Bilawal’s meeting with ambassador was being planned, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had already reached Saudi Arabia where the former president held important meetings with some key players in the Saudi kingdom. Later, Zardari also performed Umrah. An official handout of the PPP said that the former president prayed for success in the war against terrorism and militancy.

When contacted, PPP’s Secretary-General Senator Latif Khan Khosa confirmed that during the meeting, the matter of Pakistan’s inclusion in the 34-nation alliance had come under discussion.

“Chairman Bilawal and Saudi ambassador had a threadbare discussion over the alliance against IS. Pakistan’s inclusion in the alliance also came under discussion,” Senator Khosa added.