No decision on joining military campaign in Yemen before KSA visit: official

Published March 30, 2015
An image taken on March 29, 2015 shows a burnt petrol station in Yemen's second city of Aden. — AFP
An image taken on March 29, 2015 shows a burnt petrol station in Yemen's second city of Aden. — AFP
A Pakistani man hugs a family, evacuated from Yemen, on their arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad on March 30, 2015. — AFP
A Pakistani man hugs a family, evacuated from Yemen, on their arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad on March 30, 2015. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: As a high-level defence delegation is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia, a security official told Reuters that there would be no decision on joining the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen before the visit.

“There can be no decision (on joining the military campaign) before the delegation's visit,” one official said.

The team, led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Affairs and Foreign Security Sartaj Aziz, was due to leave either on Monday or in the next few days, security officials told Reuters.

Pakistan evacuated about 500 of its nationals by plane from Yemen on Sunday during a brief pause in air strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition against Shia Muslim Houthi forces, a Saudi military spokesman said.

Read more: Around 500 stranded Pakistanis return from Yemen

He said there were already around 750-800 Pakistani servicemen in Saudi Arabia but none were combat troops.

He declined to comment about their duties and it was not immediately clear what kind of military support Saudi Arabia was seeking.

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.

“Saudi Arabia had always helped Pakistan like an elder brother,” Asif told a seminar in Lahore shown on television channels. “Pakistan will extend all support to Saudi Arabia if the country's security is threatened.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a telephone call with Saudi King Salman on Saturday, offered “all potentials of the Pakistan army”, media quoted the Saudi Press Agency as saying.

Take a look: Nawaz assures Saudi King Salman of Pakistan Army support

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...