- Doha says unjustified decision aimed to put Qatar under political guardianship
- FO says Pakistan has no immediate plans to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism in an unprecedented rift between the most powerful members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s oldest movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of Iran. The three Gulf states announced the closure of transport ties with Qatar and gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries.
Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. “Qatar’s practices of dealing with the (Houthi) coup militias and supporting extremist groups became clear,” the Yemeni government said in a statement, adding that it supported a decision by the Saudi-led coalition to remove Qatar from its ranks.
Libya’s eastern-based government also followed regional allies in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, its Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Dayri confirmed. The government, which sits in the eastern city of Bayda, has little authority within Libya, and is appointed by a parliament that also sits in the east and is aligned with powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar.
They have spurned a United Nations-backed, internationally recognised government in the capital, Tripoli. Qatar slammed the decisions to sever ties with it, saying they were unjustified and aimed to put Doha under political guardianship. “The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims,” the Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement, referring to the unprecedented steps.
“The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar’s) sovereignty as a state. The campaign of incitement is based on lies that had reached the level of complete fabrications,” the ministry said. As a member of the GCC, Qatar was committed to its charter, respected the sovereignty of other states and did not interfere in their affairs, it said.
These are more severe measures than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha. At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled. The decision comes after Qatar alleged in late May that hackers took over the site of its state-run news agency and published what it called fake comments from its ruling emir about Iran and Israel.
Its Gulf Arab neighbours responded with anger, blocking Qatari-based media, including the Doha-based state-owned satellite channel Al Jazeera. A split between Doha and its closest allies can have repercussions around the Middle East where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
FOREIGN OFFICE: Pakistan has no immediate plans to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said in response to news of the rift between Qatar and five other Middle Eastern nations, stated that Pakistan has no such plans. “At the moment, there is nothing on Qatar issue, (we) will issue a statement if some development takes place,” he said.
In Sydney, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a news conference that he does not expect a growing rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours to degrade unity in the fight against militancy. He said that the rift would have no implications for the effort against the militant group. Qatar houses the sprawling Al Udeid Air Base, which is home to the US military’s Central Command and some 10,000 American troops.
AIRLINES SUSPEND OPERATIONS: All the nations have announced plans to cut air and sea traffic to the peninsular country. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) said on Monday it has banned all Qatari private and commercial aeroplanes from landing in the kingdom’s airports. It also said all Saudi commercial and private air operators shall be banned from operating to Qatar.
Qatar Airways announced that it has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia with immediate effect. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, Dubai-based flydubai and long-haul carrier Emirates all announced suspension of flights to Qatar amid the escalating diplomatic rift.
