Pakistan agree to send troops to Yemen, claims Saudi defense minister

[Kurlang]

Dont buy this news

 

[Capt.Popeye]

@niaz sahab; this whole mess has been wrought by the new King in KSA and more so his chief advisor son who has been 'kicked upstairs' as Defence Minister and Chief Advisor.

Their gung-ho approach has led the issue to spiral out of control. Thus leading the spin-doctors to concoct stories about a Shia invasion, danger to the two mosques and other similar fiction.

Now the maelstrom is sucking in even more people, including Pakistan. So whatever Mr.Ayaz Amir is so sensibly and passionately advocating may not even come to pass.

When a shylock comes to the door intent on collecting his pound of flesh; its quite hard to contrive ways to keep him at bay.

 

[Dalit]

Dont buy this news

No is buying it expect a handful of wishful Indians. Pakistan isn't participating in this mess. There's nothing much more to say.

 

[niaz]

@niaz sahab; this whole mess has been wrought by the new King in KSA and more so his chief advisor son who has been 'kicked upstairs' as Defence Minister and Chief Advisor.

Their gung-ho approach has led the issue to spiral out of control. Thus leading the spin-doctors to concoct stories about a Shia invasion, danger to the two mosques and other similar fiction.

Now the maelstrom is sucking in even more people, including Pakistan. So whatever Mr.Ayaz Amir is so sensibly and passionately advocating may not even come to pass.

When a shylock comes to the door intent on collecting his pound of flesh; its quite hard to contrive ways to keep him at bay.

Your observation is correct. Nonetheless this does pose a dilemma for Pakistan. Should Pakistan say yes to the call of her long-time friend Saudi Arabia and face its possibly disastrous consequences of having irate neighbours on both sides of her borders or show ingratitude & lack of moral spine by ignoring it?

Two things are certain. Firstly there is no danger to the holy places of Mecca or Medina. This fight being entirely within the Yemini borders. Secondly, there is little threat to the territorial integrity of Saudi Kingdom. Even if Houthis attack KSA, it would be to retake what Yemen lost to King Abdul Aziz in 1934. However, to completely ignore call of a friend in need is morally wrong.

Ideally we would like to help Saudis but limit the activities of our troops to the defence of Saudi territory only. Would Saudis be satisfied with what is nothing but a symbolic gesture as Saudis know that there is little likelihood of Houthis attacking KSA?

I for once have no clue what would be the best course of action. Here is another commentary on this situation, this time by an Air Marshall.


Shahzad Chaudhry
Friday, April 03, 2015
From Print Edition


23 7 9 2

When Saddam Hussein first invaded Kuwait in 1990 and the coalition of the willing was formed under a UN proclamation of war against him, Pakistan faced a similar predicament as it does today. Saudi Arabia thought it was next in line unless Saddam was stopped and then evicted from Kuwait. The Saudis asked the world to help. Happily, the Americans and the world responded in support of Saudi Arabia, except that after all was done the Americans billed $36 billion to the Saudis as the cost of the war.

That is when the price of oil went up over time to make space for such payments, and the kingdom, always known for its rich coffers, urged austerity at home. If resentment within the subjects against the royal family took root around this time, it showed itself in later years with the advent of the Arab Spring when both Bahrain, a Saudi cousin-state and eastern Saudi Arabia, home to the Saudi Shias, turned restive.

At the time Pakistan internally had another dilemma though. The then Pakistani government, under Nawaz Sharif, was in favour of sending troops to Saudi Arabia to join the war, while its army chief, Aslam Beg Mirza, stood firmly in the corner of Saddam Hussein. Even as the two divisions of his army proceeded to the south of Saudi Arabia, in a defensive mission, the army chief continued to churn out statements in support of Saddam Hussein and against the coalition of which his army was a purported partner. On the roads, goods trucks – popular for informal truck art, and always given to instant expression of popular sentiments – began displaying Aslam Beg Mirza and Saddam Hussein, both riding horses in a triumphant pose. There simply could not have been another state-society and state-state dichotomy as large and as explicit.

The current spate of turmoil in the Middle East also has Saudi Arabia in the middle. Removing Bashar al-Assad in Syria was a Saudi obsession that would have also weakened the Hezbollah in Lebanon, taking two of the most important allies of Iran out of the Middle East power equation. Instead, what began as Al Nusra, the Saudi proxy for the mission, soon gave way to Isis, a newer, inimical and a more destructive force for the Saudis to contend with.

The rise of Isis as a ruthless Sunni force, given to anti-Shia beliefs and all else that stands in its way to exclusive domination of the Muslim world, grants fresh relevance to Iran. As Iran entered the war to stem this danger against its own geopolitical and ideological interests the table of eminence that the Saudis sought as their foremost objective seems to have reversed. What goes on in the Middle East is classic geopolitical power play. Since it has Iran and Saudi Arabia as the two competing poles, it gets qualified as either an Iran-Saudi play for power or as a Shia-Sunni contest. In the end it is all about power and influence.

Yemen, too, is an interesting extension of similar political dynamics. After the Arab Spring gobbled up another long-serving autocrat in Ali Abdullah Saleh, space opened up for players such as the Al-Qaeda and the tribal Houthis in the north to exercise their influence. What has emerged there is another tussle for power when a weak government post-Arab Spring simply melted away to give the Houthi Shias space. The Al-Qaeda too may have gone as have the pursuing Americans – giving rise to apprehensions of the Houthi offensive being another American ploy of indirect strategy to close physical space on Al-Qaeda. The Saudi angst though stands significantly enhanced because of the implicit consequences.

The chaos in Yemen opens up space for what the Saudis clearly see as an inimical situation. The Houthis are purported to carry Iranian support, which means yet another region of increasing Iranian influence in the Middle East and a closing gauntlet around the Saudi regime. True or not, that is how it seems to the Saudi dynasty that perceives its hold over the kingdom becoming tentative under the shadow of a pervasive threat of an Arab Spring held at bay with some contrived social management and financial inducement of its vulnerable segments in the east. Geopolitics of the Iran-Saudi contention in the larger Middle East, coupled with such underlying apprehensions, lies at the root of the acute Saudi discomfort.

All of that places nations such as Pakistan – with stakes in maintaining relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia – in a dilemma. Saudi Arabia has at times of difficulty come to Pakistan’s rescue, mostly with hefty bailouts; but then it also has been instrumental in leading Pakistan down the slippery slope of increasing religious extremism and turmoil while sponsoring its own ideological agenda. The recent past has seen Saudi role in helping spread Salafism in Pakistan. Pakistan has also huge imperatives and determinants that force its interests closer to home. Saudi Arabia may be an important brotherly nation but a friendly Iran is a geostrategic imperative for Pakistan. It is almost as if emotion and reason strain at each other.

Modern nation-states are run not by emotion but by reason and strategic interests. Pakistan’s other strategic imperative is its national and social cohesion. With a Shia population of at least 15 percent, Pakistan simply cannot be seen to be taking sides in a war that will increasingly be characterised as a Shia-Sunni confrontation.

That is unfortunately the implied consequence when Pakistan declares that it will defend the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia. Not only is it an overextension of its own limited politico-military capacity – and punching above its weight, again – in a Saudi-Iran confrontation that is taking sides at the cost of our own strategic interests and geopolitical imperatives.

There are other important issues too. What of the focus on the war against terrorism and extremism that had begun to gain centrality in our national effort to forge a new path as a nation? It has been of such crystallising importance that its success is now inalienably linked to the success of the idea of Pakistan. Such is the importance of the mission that our nation and its military have chosen to take upon themselves. To dilute its focus with foreign expeditions will defeat that very objective.

For too long now we have been rentier(s) to the world, placing our services at their disposal to achieve foreign ends without regard to the consequences of such engagements. We are fighting those consequences now, cleansing ourselves off the muck that has marred our face. This isn’t the moment to give the effort up for another ill-thought adventure. Nor is it the time to get some more muck on. Let foreign fires be. Discern the imperative from the important.

The writer is a retired air-vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force and served as its deputy chief of staff.

Email: shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com
The Middle East problem - Shahzad Chaudhry

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Thank you @niaz sahab;
I have already read AVM Shahzad Chudhry's views. He has consistently advocated not to get involved in ill-conceived ventures. This Op-Ed by him is not the first in that line of thought since Yemen has been escalated by a bunch of "Cowboys". And there is no shortage of compelling arguments that he has put forth here as well.

The problem is that Pakistan does not find itself in an enviable situation; thanks largely to what AVM Chaudhry describes rather accurately as "the rentier syndrome", or words to that effect. That syndrome having been built up over nearly six decades; is not going to be easy to break out of ..... but it will have to be done. Or as Ayaz amir said in his piece: the label of "miskeen" will become indelible.

As you have rightly averred (and it is borne out by facts on the ground) KSA is not in any danger, least of all the Two Mosques. Neither is Iran or Shia idealogy in it; though now the the Houthis will be increasingly pushed into a closer embrace with the Iranian fringe. All because of Saudi mishandling, which started with imposition of successive Govts on the Yemenis coupled with other interference. This may seem to be a "bush-fire" but will not be put out soon. Notwithstanding all the heavy air-power in use.
Now; the time for Ground Ops will loom large; but how many will have cojones, gumption, the blood-stock to undertake that?- remains to be seen.... unless "rentiers" can be marshalled for the job.

What role Pakistan can essay for itself in this imbroglio will remain a question, that can be best answered by its Strategic Estt?
Of course.... contrivances such as an opportunity for testing the new aircraft can also be created for that purpose!

 

[niaz]

I just saw the briefing by Saudi Military spokesman. Pakistani flag was clearly visible among flags of the coalition members. Basically implying that Pakistan is already a member.

 

[Indian Patriot]

Arab coalition ground forces would be massacred. The houthis have immense popular support and geographical advantage, plus the air strikes have killed over 100 civilians and the public is seething with anger. They will have to stick to air attacks.

 

[Mutakalim]

I don't know how true this news is, but we'll find out once the APC is held. If PML-N can secure PPP's vote, they'll have enough support send at least reserve forces to KSA, along with logistical support.

What i feel is that NS will never say No to saudis. At the same time they will use delaying tactics and hope situation to normalise.

 

[ManavKalia]

Pakistan agree to send troops to Yemen, claims Saudi defense minister

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• Pakistan
  
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• World

1 day ago

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia defense minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz has said that Pakistan will soon send its forces to the country for joint military operation against Houthi rebels.


According to Dawn News which quoted Arab media said that following the meeting of Pakistan high level delegation with Saudi authorities, it is decided the Pak army will launch a joint operation with Saudi army against Houthi rebels in Yemen.


It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s high level delegation is in Saudi Arabia to discuss Yemen issue.

However, no official announcement came to send the forces to Yemen.

Pakistan agree to send troops to Yemen, claims Saudi defense minister | The News Tribe

Great news for India..

 

[timetravel]

Well lets see if they finally send.

but If they do send, I have no words to describe how can PA agree to kill fellow Muslims. What happened to all that vows of Allah's army. Big joke really that would be if indeed this is true.

 

[Taygibay]

From Western ( US ) perspective :
Pakistan Walks Tightrope Over Yemen Crisis

Good day, Tay.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

From Western ( US ) perspective :
Pakistan Walks Tightrope Over Yemen Crisis

Good day, Tay.

Of course it is a tight-rope.
But the more seriously compelling question is this: "is there a safety-Net"?

 

[xyxmt]

In the end what would Pakistanis get out of sending its blood and treasure, and resources to Saudia Arabia, fighting foreign wars? What benefits common Pakistanis ?

Countries dont do everything that directly effect common Pakistani. I see things changing in the middle eastern and muslim politics. Arabs have given up on West and US and they finally realized what is west doing to them, they are now looking towards Pakistan and Turkey. Have you ever thought why all of sudden Russian changed their policy towards weapon sale to Pakistan dont you think India would have put all the pressure against selling weapons to Pakistan, how come Pakistan is suddenly on weapon buying spree, MI-36, Z10s, Air defense systems, and most of all investment on Navy including recently sign agreement of 8 subs, when was the last time Pakistan bought this much weapon in such a small time. Think where is money coming from. In next 20 to 30 years this world of ours will be multipolar with 3 or four centers of military powers, Pakistan together with Turkey will be one of them Egypt might be a part of it, with financing from gulf states but mainly Saudia Arabia, with Pakistan providing nuclear umbrella, so with 5 years we will hear about nuclear subs and 2nd strike capability. Bad things happen so that good things can happen...result of all the chaos and fighting in muslim countries will bear its fruits...A kick in the *** is always needed.

 

[mingle]

Arab coalition ground forces would be massacred. The houthis have immense popular support and geographical advantage, plus the air strikes have killed over 100 civilians and the public is seething with anger. They will have to stick to air attacks.

Realy how u know that ?Don't troll on net much

Countries dont do everything that directly effect common Pakistani. I see things changing in the middle eastern and muslim politics. Arabs have given up on West and US and they finally realized what is west doing to them, they are now looking towards Pakistan and Turkey. Have you ever thought why all of sudden Russian changed their policy towards weapon sale to Pakistan dont you think India would have put all the pressure against selling weapons to Pakistan, how come Pakistan is suddenly on weapon buying spree, MI-36, Z10s, Air defense systems, and most of all investment on Navy including recently sign agreement of 8 subs, when was the last time Pakistan bought this much weapon in such a small time. Think where is money coming from. In next 20 to 30 years this world of ours will be multipolar with 3 or four centers of military powers, Pakistan together with Turkey will be one of them Egypt might be a part of it, with financing from gulf states but mainly Saudia Arabia, with Pakistan providing nuclear umbrella, so with 5 years we will hear about nuclear subs and 2nd strike capability. Bad things happen so that good things can happen...result of all the chaos and fighting in muslim countries will bear its fruits...A kick in the *** is always needed.

I don't see any land invasion in Yemen by GCC not in near future they doing good without it pak have vital interest with GCC and Turks my take is if there is involvement in Yemen it will be special forces with hadi loyalists Aden have little support for hothis they have support in sana area

I just saw the briefing by Saudi Military spokesman. Pakistani flag was clearly visible among flags of the coalition members. Basically implying that Pakistan is already a member.

True Niaz sb it's been there on day one .

 

[Dalit]

From Western ( US ) perspective :
Pakistan Walks Tightrope Over Yemen Crisis

Good day, Tay.

This is what the West (US) needs to know. Nawaz is sending his family to do the fighting in Yemen since he owes them his life. The Pak arm isn't Nawaz Sharif's private army. The Pak army is never going to be part of this mess. Besides, the Pak army has other more important matter to take care of.