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Pakistan says no decision made to take part in Saudi-Yemen conflict

Xinhua, March 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the parliament on Friday that the government has not yet taken any decision to participate in the war in the Middle East.

The minister in a policy statement in the National Assembly said Pakistan has only made a pledge in principle to defend Saudi Arabia in case of any danger to its territorial integrity.

The statement came as fighter jets of Saudi Arabia resumed second day strikes on the positions of the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday Saudi Arabia had sought help from Pakistan in the conflict and that Islamabad is considering the request.

The minister said Pakistan would dispatch a delegation comprising defence minister, adviser on foreign affairs and other military officials to Saudi Arabia to assess their defence requirements. "However, a meeting of Arab League is going to be held on Friday or Saturday and we hoped that the issue will be resolved on a common platform."

The Prime Minister Office earlier announced the delegation was scheduled to leave for Riyadh on Friday.

The minister said Pakistan would play its role in forging unity and solidarity among Muslim countries.

Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah said that Pakistan should play its role for peace particularly in the Islamic world and should not take side in the war in the Middle East.

He suggested that a Joint Session of the Parliament or an All Parties Conference be convened to take decision on the issue. He said foreign policy should also be reviewed to meet the present day challenges.

Khawaja Asif said the fears of the Leader of the Opposition about Pakistan taking side in the war in Middle East are baseless. "If any decision required to be made in this regard, the Parliament will be taken into confidence,"the minister said.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presided over a high level meeting on Thursday to review a Saudi government request for help.

Another opposition leader Imran Khan expressed grave concern over what he called Pakistan being pushed into a war being spearheaded by a U.S.-Saudi military alliance in Yemen against the Houthi rebels. "Pakistan should stay neutral in any sectarian conflict in the Gulf and Middle East, as there will be a severe backlash in our own region, especially in Pakistan. We are already confronting a huge sectarian problem in Pakistan,"Khan told reporters in the city of Lahore.

Activists of a hardliner group"Jamaat-ud-Dawa"on Friday staged a demonstration in Islamabad in support of Saudi Arabia. The participants gathered outside a mosque and chanted slogans against Yemen rebels. Endi