Nawaz assures Saudi King Salman of Pakistan Army support

Published March 28, 2015
Nawaz asserted that all potentials of Pakistan Army are at Riyadh’s disposal. -AP/File
Nawaz asserted that all potentials of Pakistan Army are at Riyadh’s disposal. -AP/File

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a telephone conversation with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud discussed the recent developments on regional and international fronts.

According to a report issued by the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), during the telephone conversation on Saturday, Nawaz expressed full support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ‘Determination Storm’ operation, asserting that "all potentials of the Pakistani Army are offered to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".

Also read: Pakistan must not join Yemen war, says Imran

King Salman thanked the prime minister for his feelings and stressed on the depth of relations between the two countries, the report said.

According to diplomatic sources, Saudi Arabia has also assured its cooperation for the safe evacuation of Pakistanis stranded in Yemen.

Nawaz Sharif on Friday had ordered the Pakistani mission in Yemen to take steps for the immediate evacuation of stranded Pakistani families in the troubled country.

Earlier, the prime minister had asserted that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan.

However, Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in the National Assembly that Pakistan has only pledged to safeguard the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He stressed on Pakistan's role as 'facilitator' to end the conflicts in the Muslim world.

"Instead of aggravating the situation by participating in it, Pakistan should do what it can to prevent it ─ for the alliance and unity of the Muslim world," the defence minister had said. "Pakistan is ready to adopt whatever role is needed in order to facilitate the termination of conflicts in the Islamic world."

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday to counter Iran-backed forces besieging the southern city of Aden, where the US-supported Yemeni president had taken refuge.

Also read: Sectarian polarisation amid air strikes on Yemen

Gulf broadcaster al-Arabiya TV reported that the kingdom was contributing as many as 150,000 troops and 100 warplanes to the operations and that allies Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan were ready to take part in a ground offensive in Yemen.

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