Pakistan to quit Saudi-led military coalition if it turns sectarian

[BHarwana]

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (C) (Photo by AFP)

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says Islamabad will quit a controversial Saudi-led military coalition if it becomes sectarian.

“Pakistan does not wish to be a part of any sectarian alliance,” the minister told lawmakers in the senate, the upper house of the parliament.

“Our efforts have been and will be geared towards eradicating militancy.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Pakistani minister said Islamabad had not issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the former army chief, General Raheel Sharif, to assume the command of the coalition.

The remarks come after some sources earlier said the Pakistani government had cleared the former army chief to take up the job as the head of the coalition following a formal request from Saudi Arabia.

The news of the controversial appointment sparked controversy in the country and was strongly denounced by some politicians, retired army officers and intellectuals, as well as Shia and moderate Sunni Muslim leaders.

Opposition lawmakers consider the decision a violation of a parliamentary resolution passed in April 2015 that called for Pakistan to maintain a policy of neutrality, particularly in the Saudi aggression against Yemen. The Saudi campaign, which allegedly seeks to restore Yemen's ex-government to power, has killed over 12,000 Yemenis, according to the latest tallies.

Pakistan had initially found itself in the crosshairs as Saudi Arabia named it as part of its newly formed military alliance, without first getting its consent.

In December 2015, Saudi Defense Minister Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the formation of an alliance of Muslim-majority countries, which now numbers 40. Riyadh claims the alliance has been formed to fight extremist groups such as the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/04/12/517756/Pakistan-Asif-Saudi-Arabia-coalition

 

[Baghial]

AND WHO WILL DECIDE THAT IT HAS BECOME sectarian.

INNER CABINET OF NAWAZ SHARIF ?

 

[YeBeWarned]

AND WHO WILL DECIDE THAT IT HAS BECOME sectarian.View attachment 390273


INNER CABINET OF NAWAZ SHARIF ?

The Alliance will decide for itself, if this alliance/Army start discriminating and killing people just because they are Shia or whatever than its a Shitty Alliance ..

 

[XDescendantX]

Funny how the West basically showed no objections to the Islamic Military Alliance? I wouldn't be surprised if this is actually a Western controlled alliance secretly hiding behind there Arab puppets to widen the rift between Sunni and Shia.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[Imtiaz_Sarwar]

How can Pakistan quit an alliance which it has not even joined yet. Interesting statement of our defense minister. Could it mean that Pakistan is thinking of joining the alliance?

 

[PaklovesTurkiye]

The Alliance will decide for itself, if this alliance/Army start discriminating and killing people just because they are Shia or whatever than its a Shitty Alliance ..

Wrong is wrong...Talibans were wrong...got kicked in middle...Houthis are wrong...may get kick in middle...What puzzles me is that when Taliban were getting killed, no body shouted or acted like a di*k by saying Sunnis are getting murdered/killed by sectarian army...

But now when sword is possibly hanging on Houthis, who happen to be close towards shia philosophy...everyone is shouting like hell, trying to give it sectarian color...Why?

Taliban and houthis both wrecking havoc inside their respective countries...what wrong is wrong...

 

[ziaulislam]

Wrong is wrong...Talibans were wrong...got kicked in middle...Houthis are wrong...may get kick in middle...What puzzles me is that when Taliban were getting killed, no body shouted or acted like a di*k by saying Sunnis are getting murdered/killed by sectarian army...

But now when sword is possibly hanging on Houthis, who happen to be close towards shia philosophy...everyone is shouting like hell, trying to give it sectarian color...Why?

Taliban and houthis both wrecking havoc inside their respective countries...what wrong is wrong...

thats is where the problem is? shia dont believe that housthis are wrong!, they dont believe asad is wrong..

 

[Mo12]

This was always doomed to failed, where many weak economies join together without a clear plan and financed by oil.

 

[Hassan Guy]

Well, looks like we should quit now.

 

[PaklovesTurkiye]

thats is where the problem is? shia dont believe that housthis are wrong!, they dont believe asad is wrong..

Can't allow them to manipulate facts...What if majority, the Sunnis, here in Pakistan, also starts acting like them? What chance/face they will have then?

 

[Jf Thunder]

Oh? so we are doing it for Iran again?
why can we not have a foreign policy independent of Iran?

 

[haviZsultan]

Oh? so we are doing it for Iran again?
why can we not have a foreign policy independent of Iran?

The same could be said about Saudi Arabia. Its best to be neutral. If the alliance is against terrorism only, then good and invite Iran because in the past it has suffered terror too. If not then say so clearly and we should have no part in it. We cannot choose sides between Saudi and Iran.

 

[VFY]

Wrong is wrong...Talibans were wrong...got kicked in middle...Houthis are wrong...may get kick in middle...What puzzles me is that when Taliban were getting killed, no body shouted or acted like a di*k by saying Sunnis are getting murdered/killed by sectarian army...

Why are the Houthis wrong? The Saudis were allied with them in the 1960s against the secularists who were supported by Egypt/Syria during the civil war there. What changed now?

Why are the Taliban wrong? Aren't they simply defending their country from invaders?

Furthermore, can't the Saudis with their enormous wealth simply bribe the Houthis? Or am I to believe the Houthis are so steadfast in their ideals, that no amount of Saudi fortune will sway them?

Also weren't the Taliban getting killed by their fellow Sunnis? So why would anyone say that?

But now when sword is possibly hanging on Houthis, who happen to be close towards shia philosophy...everyone is shouting like hell, trying to give it sectarian color...Why?

They are actually more Sunni since they follow a philosophy closer to Hanafi jurisprudence. They don't have Shia beliefs like taqiyah, mutah, shrine pilgrimage or following the clerical establishment in Iraq/Iran. Since they are closer to Sunnis because they actually respect all the caliphs/sahaba, why are they even associated with Shias of Iran?

You are right then, who is giving this a sectarian color since clearly on jurisprudence grounds the Houthi Zaydis are more like Sunni/Hanafi?

Taliban and houthis both wrecking havoc inside their respective countries...what wrong is wrong...

Argumentative. You can argue that outside powers (Saudi, Pakistan) are also wrecking havoc. And what is 'wrong' is also up to debate since both sides can hurl accusations at each other. And there are plenty of Afghans who will disagree with you and say the Taliban are their saviour against NATO/Kabul government. Otherwise Taliban would not have survived thus far.

What we need to look at is interests. All players are rational. What exactly is the goal of the Houthis? And the end game for the Saudis? What is the goal of Taliban? Getting into this useless notion of 'wrong' gets us no where and is frankly irrelevant when discussing geopolitics.

thats is where the problem is? shia dont believe that housthis are wrong!, they dont believe asad is wrong..

Shias have minimal power and influence as compared to the Sunnis. I don't see this as an issue if they think Houthis/Assad are 'wrong' which again is very debatable issue.

 

[PaklovesTurkiye]

Why are the Houthis wrong? The Saudis were allied with them in the 1960s against the secularists who were supported by Egypt/Syria during the civil war there. What changed now?

Why are the Taliban wrong? Aren't they simply defending their country from invaders?

Furthermore, can't the Saudis with their enormous wealth simply bribe the Houthis? Or am I to believe the Houthis are so steadfast in their ideals, that no amount of Saudi fortune will sway them?

Also weren't the Taliban getting killed by their fellow Sunnis? So why would anyone say that?

U do have a point which I didn't know...but I m talking about Pakistani taliban, they were not fighting for country...but against it...Rest of your post is quite interesting...I appreciate..

 

[The SC]

Funny how the West basically showed no objections to the Islamic Military Alliance? I wouldn't be surprised if this is actually a Western controlled alliance secretly hiding behind there Arab puppets to widen the rift between Sunni and Shia.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

The US was curious to know what were the objectives of this new coalition, So the west did not object after getting to know the objectives..