Lawmakers on Thursday expressed "deep concern" over a diplomatic rift in the Middle East and passed a resolution urging all countries to "show restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue".
A copy of the resolution presented by Aftab Sherpao said the Lower House also called upon the government to take concrete steps towards forging unity amongst the Muslim Ummah in the region.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s chief whip in the National Assembly Shireen Mazari also called for Pakistan to exit the Saudi-led 41-nation Islamic military alliance, urging Islamabad to adopt a neutral role in the Middle East.
"The conflict between Qatar and Saudi Arabia has America and Israel’s finger prints all over it," she claimed.
"Qatar is being played… Pakistan should stay neutral and play a positive role and try to help resolve the conflict," she said.
"[US President] Donald Trump and Israel are against a united Muslim Ummah. Pakistan should immediately exit the Islamic military alliance," she demanded.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia, backed by United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Maldives cut off all trade and diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the country of sponsoring terrorism.
Qatar denied these allegations, terming them as ‘false and baseless’. The move came after an allegedly fake news story quoted Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani calling Iran an “Islamic power” and claiming that the country’s relations with Israel were “good”.
While Qatar denied the story and called it false, Saudi channels played it all day.
The crisis is being touted as the biggest in the Middle East and has led Pakistan, along with countries around the world, into coming up with a suitable strategy to end the conflict.
Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid claimed that the [war against terror] is not over yet. Echoing Mazari, he added that former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif should not have sent Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) is a Saudi-led alliance of 41 countries’ troops headed by Pakistan’s former army chief Raheel Sharif. Members of the IMAFT include Arab countries as well as Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia amongst others. Iran is not part of the alliance that was formed in December 2015 with the aim to counter terrorism of all kinds.
NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told the House that a National Security Committee session has been called on June 15 to discuss the Qatar conflict. The agenda also includes the Islamic Summit that was hosted in Riyadh last month, he said.
