Pakistani activists from the Muslim Students Organisation shout slogans during a rally in support of the government of Saudi Arabia, over the situation in Yemen, in Islamabad yesterday.

Reuters/Islamabad

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday called for a joint session of parliament to consider whether to join the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
For six days, a Saudi-led coalition has bombed Iran-allied Houthi fighters and army units fighting against Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whose last bastion in the southern city of Aden was heavily shelled overnight.
“Given the close historical cultural and religious affinities between the peoples of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was reaffirmed that any isolation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity will evoke a strong response from Pakistan,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“...The prime minister further emphasised that all decisions in the matter will be taken in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan. To this end, the prime minister is advising the president to convene a joint session of parliament on Monday April 6 to discuss this matter of national importance.”
The statement came after Sharif was briefed by a high-level defence delegation that returned from Saudi on Wednesday.
He is expected to go to Turkey today to discuss the situation in Yemen, a government official said.
Pakistan is a regional ally of Saudi Arabia. Pakistan also shares a long border with Iran, considered to be the centre of Shia power and Saudi’s main regional rival. An estimated 20% of Pakistanis are Shia.
A senior Pakistani government official said yesterday that Islamabad would send troops to Saudi Arabia to provide military support to the Saudi-led coalition. But later Defence Minister Khawaja Asif denied any decision had been made.
Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the parliamentary hearings might take more than a day. It was unclear if there would be a vote.
“There will probably be a debate,” she said. “Obviously they will expect statements from the delegation that went to Saudi Arabia.”
Right-wing religious groups in Pakistan demonstrated last week, vowing to defend Saudi Arabia. But some civil society groups and opposition politicians spoke against intervention, taking the view it could further inflame domestic sectarian tension.
Sharif has long enjoyed close relations with the Saudi royal family. After his second term as prime minister was ended by a military coup in 1999, he was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia lent $1.5bn to Pakistan last year to help Islamabad shore up foreign exchange reserves. Pakistani officials initially refused to divulge the source of the loan.
Iranian FM likely to visit Pakistan next week
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit Islamabad on April 8 for discussions on bilateral relations and the regional situation, officials said yesterday.
This would be the first high-level contact between the two countries since a Saudi-led coalition started air strikes in Yemen against what is being described as Houthi rebel targets. Pakistan has sided with Saudi Arabia in the conflict with the Houthis, who are said to be backed by Iran.
The Iranian foreign ministry had last week called Pakistani Ambassador in Tehran Noor Mohamed Jademani to express its concerns over the situation in Yemen and Pakistan’s likely participation in the anti-Houthi alliance.
During the conversation, Iran had offered to hold dialogue with Pakistan on the issue.
Zarif had told reporters in Switzerland, where he had gone for talks about Iran’s nuclear programme, that his country condemned air strikes and was encouraging dialogue and national reconciliation in Yemen.
Pakistan too hinted his week that it would be reaching out to the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries for discussions on the Yemen crisis.


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