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ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation led by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif along with Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry reached Jeddah to meet Saudi leadership and give assurance that Pakistan is supporting Saudi Arabia in the ongoing Yemen crisis.
The Foreign Office spokesperson had earlier said that the delegation will reach Riyadh, however, it arrived in Jeddah, as confirmed by the spokesperson for the Counsel General in Jeddah Sohail Ali Khan.
Khan further said that the delegation held meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal in Jeddah.
According to diplomatic sources, issues relating to bilateral interests including the ongoing crisis in Yemen came under discussion.
The purpose of this visit is to give assurances to Saudi authorities and leadership that Pakistan will support Saudi Arabia in their time of need.
The delegation then left for Riyadh where it is expected to meet Saudi ministers and the Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz on Thursday, said Khan.
Prior to its departure, the delegation had held a meeting with the prime minister.
Rashid reiterates support to Saudi, UAE
Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid reiterated that Saudi Arabia has stood with Pakistan in times of hardship, and that Pakistan has a strong relationship with the United Arab Emirates as well.
Talking to media personnel in Islamabad, Rashid said Pakistan supports the United Nations Security Council resolution on Yemen which has called for an arms embargo on the Houthi rebels.
Referring to the parliament’s resolution on Yemen, the information minister said the whole country was united in its stance on the conflict, adding that the parliament’s decision was Pakistan’s decision.
"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had already declared that a legitimate Yemeni government had been illegally removed by rebels, which is a dangerous precedent," said Rashid.
Also read: Pakistani delegation arrives in S. Arabia for talks over Yemen crisis
Last month, a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had visited Riyadh to hold talks over the ongoing crisis in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia and its allies last month launched air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters, who have tightened their grip in the southern city of Aden where the country's president had taken refuge.
The Sharif brothers have enjoyed close ties with the Saudi royal family, and spent their years of exile from Pakistan after 1999 in Jeddah. The premier's brother Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif, who is not part of the federal government, is leading the delegation.
Read: Yemen conundrum
Pakistan is a regional ally of Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni Muslim power in the Gulf, but has yet to commit itself publicly to military support to Riyadh's campaign in Yemen — a decision that appears to have upset its long-time ally.
Explore: Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners: PM Nawaz
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried on Monday to soothe frayed nerves by reassuring Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies over a parliamentary resolution that had called for neutrality in the Yemen conflict.
In a short statement made in the evening, the prime minister reiterated his commitment to security of Saudi Arabia, calling it a strategic ally, but without committing to any military engagement in the Gulf region.
Nawaz in his speech upheld the Parliament’s recent resolution to stay 'neutral' in the Yemen conflict, and repeated the words of the resolution regarding the importance of Saudi Arabia as an ally. “We stand with them shoulder to shoulder,” he had said.
Read Dawn editorial: Arab frustration with Pakistan
Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirate's (UAE) minister of state for foreign affairs, lashed out at Pakistan's vote last week, terming it “contradictory and dangerous and unexpected”, and accusing Islamabad of siding with Iran, which is accused of backing Houthi rebels.
Gargash added that Pakistan's stand would come at a "high cost."
But Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan hit back on Sunday night in an unusually strongly-worded statement, accusing the UAE of “levelling threats.”
