Pakistan should be negotiator, not participant in Yemen conflict: Imran

Published March 27, 2015
Khan added that instead of participating in the war, Pakistan should play a significant role in negotiating peace talks. -AFP/File
Khan added that instead of participating in the war, Pakistan should play a significant role in negotiating peace talks. -AFP/File

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said Friday that Pakistan should be playing the role of a key negotiator in peace talks rather than becoming a participant in the Yemen war, in a series of tweets posted on his official Twitter account.

Imran said Pakistan had suffered huge losses in the past due to its involvement in other wars.

He said Pakistan was facing a huge sectarian issue, adding that the country had already suffered enough in ten years.

Know more: Saudi Arabia, allies launch air strikes against Houthis in Yemen

Saudi Arabia had said on Thursday that five Muslim countries including Egypt and Pakistan want to participate in the Gulf-led military coalition against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and four other Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, announced earlier a decision to “answer the call of President Hadi to protect Yemen and his people from the aggression of the (Shia) Houthi militia.“

The Kingdom and its allies launched air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters, who have tightened their grip in southern city of Aden where the country's president had taken refuge, the Saudi envoy to Washington had said on Wednesday.

Also read: Threat to S Arabia will evoke strong reaction from Pakistan: Nawaz

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asserted that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan.

This was said by Nawaz while chairing a high-level meeting at the PM House to discuss recent developments in the Middle East and to examine Saudi Arabia's request to join the Gulf-led operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen, said a statement issued by PM House on Thursday.

Nawaz said Pakistan enjoys close and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and attaches great importance to their security.

Earlier on Thursday, the Foreign Office had said Pakistan was examining Saudi Arabia's request.

Sartaj Aziz confirmed that top Saudi officials had contacted the Pakistani leadership requesting it to join the Yemen operation. A decision has not yet been taken, Aziz said.

Opinion

Editorial

Taxing pensions
Updated 11 May, 2024

Taxing pensions

Tax reforms have failed to deliver because of distortions created by the FBR bureaucracy through SROs, apparently for personal gains.
Orwellian slide
11 May, 2024

Orwellian slide

IN recent years, Pakistan has made several attempts at introducing an overarching mechanism through which to check...
Terror against girls
11 May, 2024

Terror against girls

ONCE again, the ogre of terrorism is seeking the sacrifice of schoolgirls. On Wednesday, just days after the...
Enrolment drive
Updated 10 May, 2024

Enrolment drive

The authorities should implement targeted interventions to bring out-of-school children, especially girls, into the educational system.
Gwadar outrage
10 May, 2024

Gwadar outrage

JUST two days after the president, while on a visit to Balochistan, discussed the need for a political dialogue to...
Save the witness
10 May, 2024

Save the witness

THE old affliction of failed enforcement has rendered another law lifeless. Enacted over a decade ago, the Sindh...