WASHINGTON: Pakis­tan’s position on the Yemen conflict will not lead to the expulsion of Pakistani workers from the Middle East, says Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The minister told a news briefing in Washington that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed a military protocol in 1982, which entitles the kingdom to seek Pakistani troops.

“But this agreement was for a different purpose and it is not in national interests to talk about it,” he said.

Read: Parliament calls for neutrality in Yemen conflict

“God forbid, we do not want to create the impression that we are not with Saudi Arabia. I am a sinner but I am willing to die defending the two holy mosques.”

Mr Dar, who was addressing the Pakistani media at the end of a three-day visit to Washington, was drawn into the Yemen dispute while vowing to take the country’s foreign exchange reserves to a record $18.5 billion by the end of this fiscal year.

A journalist reminded him that the largest contributor to foreign exchange reserves were overseas Pakistanis who sent a record $13.3 billion in last nine months. But some Arab countries were threatening to expel those workers because of Pakistan’s refusal to send troops to Saudi Arabia.

Also read: UAE minister warns Pakistan of ‘heavy price for ambiguous stand’ on Yemen

“I am almost sure that we will not face this situation,” said Mr Dar. “The parliamentary resolution on Yemen was misunderstood in some Arab countries but we have clarified our position.”

He said Pakistan had a particularly close relationship with Saudi Arabia and wanted to retain those ties.

“Pakistan will stand shoulder to shoulder with Saudi Arabia in the event of a threat to its territorial integrity,” he said. “We have condemned the Houthis and support the restoration of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. No armed group should be allowed to oust a government.”

The finance minister said Pakistan and Turkey were playing a reconciliatory role and wanted to bring the two groups to the negotiating table.

Mr Dar, who was in Washington to attend spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF, said the IMF would hold the 7th review of its programme for Pakistan from May 1 to 9 in Dubai and he was confident that it would be a positive review.

He said the country’s foreign exchange reserves had risen to $17.67 billion and would increase further later this year.

The State Bank of Pakistan held $12 billion, while private banks had the rest of the total reserves in the country.

“Our next target is to cross the past highest level of $18.29 billion in reserves this year. We are targeting $18.5 billion,” he said.

The minister said that these achievements were particularly significant, as the previous government had brought the country close to bankruptcy.

Mr Dar cited a series of macroeconomic indicators -- GDP growth, low inflation, successful return of the country in the international bond, Sukuk and equity markets -- to support his claim that the national economy was not only out of the red zone but was also progressing steadily.

He said the “unprecedented completion” of six levels of home-grown reforms with the IMF had also enhanced the confidence of international financial institutions in Pakistan’s economy.

Mr Dar said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan would take ties between the two countries to new heights.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2015

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