Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Hamid Raza predicted harm to Pakistan’s policy of strict neutrality due to the appointment of former Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif as the head of 39-member Islamic Military Alliance (IMA) without a formal consent of parliament.
Raza mentioned ‘alliance based on sectarianism’ and said IMA lacks supports of all Muslim countries and he stressed on an alliance comprising all 57 Muslim states after inclusion Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Saudi Arabia has accepted all three conditions.
According to Lt Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib, Saudi Defence Minister had visited Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif to express Saudi government’s desire to have General (r) Raheel Sharif as the head of the 39-country coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
Amjad Shoaib said that he had talked to Raheel Sharif and discussed in detail the conditions he had laid down before the Saudi government to join the coalition. According to Amjad Shoaib, the conditions were as follows:
– Raheel Sharif would be the commander or in-charge of such a force and there would be no command above him.
– Iran must be invited and added into the coalition.
– Raheel Sharif will have the authority to mediate between any two member countries in case of some disagreement or confusion.
Amjad Shoaib said that the conditions were accepted by the Saudi government and he joined it only afterwards.
Raza said that Raheel Sharif told him that Saudi Defence Minister had shared the proposal with PM Nawaz Sharif and PM had conveyed it to him. He told PM that it would be an honour for him but possible only if his demands were accepted.
The formal proposal in this regard will be sent to Pakistan in the coming March.