April 7, 2015
Sharif pushes for peace in Yemen conflict
Parliament to resume debate on Wednesday for decision on whether Pakistan will send troops
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured the national parliament here on Tuesday that his government would faithfully implement its decision on whether Pakistan should join the ongoing military campaign of a Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen.
Sharif held out the assurance while intervening in a debate on the crucial issue at a joint session of the lower and upper houses of the parliament on its second day.
He said Defence Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif who last week led a civil-military delegation to Saudi Arabia had already informed the parliament that the kingdom wanted Pakistan to contribute troops, warships and military aircraft.
“We are seeking your opinion and advice on how should we respond to the request,” he said, adding that “good counsel” would be made part of the policy to be pursued by the government.
He said the government was not indulging in any “trickery” to get a mandate according to its desire, but it had approached them with complete sincerity in order to benefit from their wisdom and advice.
“The whole nation is watching this debate. Whatever decision is made by the parliament the government will implement it in letter and spirit,” Sharif said.
The Yemen situation, he said, was a sensitive issue. “This debate is being watched both inside and outside Pakistan, and we should be careful about choosing our words,” the prime minister said.
With reference to calls by members of the National Assembly and the Senate for a peacemaking role by Pakistan through robust diplomacy in tandem with Turkey and other Muslim countries, the prime minister explained his efforts in this regard.
Sharif recalled his visit to Turkey and talks with its leadership during which they resolved to work together on the diplomatic front.
Subsequently, he said, the Turkish president had met with Saudi Arabia’s interior minister and he was also due to meet with the Iranian leadership.
The Iranian foreign minister was to visit Islamabad, most probably on April 8, the prime minister said, hoping that a diplomatic push for peaceful resolution of the Yemen crisis would gain momentum.
During the debate, which the parliament will resume on Wednesday, the participants stressed that Pakistan should serve as a bridge between Tehran and Riyadh and avoid getting entangled in the conflict inside Yemen.
“This is not a sectarian conflict. Any attempt to give it a sectarian colour would be a misstatement of facts. This is a tribal struggle for power which has now unfortunately become a regional proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” Senator Mushahid Hussain said.
Hussain, whose views the prime minister particularly appreciated, said that Pakistan has historically played a role towards uniting Iran and Saudi Arabia, and acted as a mediator in resolving conflicts.
“We have never got entangled in proxy wars or civil wars. Yemen is like Afghanistan — it’s an unwinnable war. There will be no winners in this conflict,”
Hussain, former federal minister in a previous Sharif-led government, said Pakistan should ask China to push the UN Security Council to bring about a ceasefire leading to elections in Yemen.
He said that Pakistan and Turkey should also host leaders of both Saudi Arabia and Iran and try to resolve the conflict.
“We should give the right advice to our friends, whether in Riyadh or Tehran,” he said.
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq said he believes that the Yemen conflict did not start out of the blue, but was “part of a great game”.
“First Iraq was a powerful nation, their economy was stable. But then we saw how their nation was dismantled,” Haq said, pointing to towards a “conspiracy” behind the conflict in Yemen.
The JI chief said that another war in the Middle East would benefit Israel. “Wars only benefit those who manufacture and sell weapons. To fulfil our friendship with Saudi Arabia, we will have to save it from war,” he said.
Sharif pushes for peace in Yemen conflict |GulfNews.com
