THIS refers to the news report ‘UN chief urges Saudi prince to seek political solution in Yemen’ (March 28).

It is good to learn that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has handed over a cheque for $930 million to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for humanitarian aid in Yemen. This will at least partly alleviate the suffering brought on to Yemenis through internal warfare plus the aerial bombardment by coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia.

The war has already gone on far too long, without either side emerging as a clear winner; it needs a political solution. This course has also been recommended by the UN secretary-general as the only solution. The chances for a negotiated settlement have brightened with Iran showing intent to rein in the Houthis.

In fact, even earlier on, Iran had made an offer to Saudi Arabia to resolve the matter through negotiations.

In view of the above, I hope the Saudi crown prince agrees to a political settlement of the problem instead of compounding the humanitarian crisis by continuing an unwinnable war.

S.R.H. Hashmi

Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2018