PRIME Minister Nawaz Sharif makes a policy statement on the Yemen-Saudi Arabia issue on Monday, as Defence Minister Khawaja Asif looks on.—White Star

ISLAMABAD: 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.

Mr Sharif, who stood in front of the cameras while some of his ministers and advisers were lined up behind him to provide moral support or endorsement, said: “Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners, especially at a time when their security is under threat.”

A formal clarification

The short television appearance followed after he held yet another consultative session with his foreign policy and defence aides along with Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif — Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant Tariq Fatmi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry were present at the meeting.

The brief speech, which was described by his office as a “policy statement on Yemen”, was interpreted as a formal clarification from the country’s highest political office after Friday’s parliamentary resolution provoked a hostile response from a UAE minister, which was seen as reflective of the general mood in the Gulf.

Says Arab states’ disappointment was based on misinterpretation of parliament’s resolution

The parliamentary resolution, which followed five days of debate, had asked Pakistan to “maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis”. In other words, the resolution made it clear that Pakistan would not send its troops as had been requested by Saudi Arabia.

The call for ‘neutrality’ provoked a strong reaction; the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs warned Pakistan that it would pay a “high price” for its “ambiguous stand”.

While there was no other public reaction, most agree that there was behind-the-scene pressure from other Arab capitals.

This was evident from Mr Sharif’s words when he said: “We are also in touch with other GCC countries to assure them that their disappointment was based on an apparent misinterpretation of parliament’s resolution.”

However, the reassurance went only so far because he stood by the parliamentary resolution noting that it “strengthened the hands of the government for playing a positive and constructive role”.

The kingdom was reassured by pointing out that it was a strategic ally; that Pakistan was committed to the sanctity of the two Holy Mosques and Saudi sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability; and that Pakistan would stand by the Saudis.

An olive branch?

However, the prime minister did condemn the overthrow of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government and described the Houthis as rebels, language that diverged from the parliamentary resolution that had focused on neutrality.

He called for reinstatement of the Hadi government. This, he maintained, would be “an important step forward towards establishing peace in Yemen”.

The principles read out by Mr Sharif restated the threshold fixed for any Pakistani involvement in the conflict – threat to territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia and sanctity of two Holy Mosques. The prime minister further said that contacts with Saudi Arabia had been “intensified” to review the threats and monitor the situation.

The Iran angle

The statement’s other objective was to dispel an impression in Arab capitals about the growing closeness between Islamabad and Tehran.

About his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who last week visited Islamabad when the parliamentary debate was taking place, Mr Sharif said that he had told Mr Zarif about concerns that the overthrow of the Hadi government set a dangerous precedent.

Iran was also asked to use its influence with Houthi militia to return to negotiations, he added.

“My government continues to follow the policy of fortifying and strengthening the bonds of friendship with the Gulf countries.

“There should be no doubt about our policy of solidarity with the GCC States,” he added.

The statement did not really add any clarity to the capital’s grape vine. Many people had predicted in the hours before the speech that the prime minister would take U-turn and announce sending troops to Saudi Arabia to appease the Gulf countries.

But when this did not happen, it was hard to explain what the speech had achieved.

‘Prime minister under pressure’

Politicians, who attended an all parliamentary parties’ meeting held on the morning of April 10 to prepare the draft resolution later passed by parliament, agreed that the government was under pressure from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for the “neutral role” it had adopted.

“The GCC countries aren’t happy with the resolution which wants Pakistan to play peace-maker instead of joining their (GCC) ongoing military effort inside Yemen,” Aftab Sherpao, head of the Qaumi Watan Party, told Dawn.

The prime minister’s policy statement, according to Mr Sherpao, was an effort on the part of the government to appease the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis. “It shows that Pakistan will remain at the beck and call of its Arab brethren.”

Mr Sherpao, who was present in the meeting which approved the draft resolution, didn’t mince words. “The heat is on the prime minister. He now has to keep Pakistan’s interest foremost,” he said, adding that Mr Sharif also had to keep in mind the wellbeing of the Pakistani expatriates settled in GCC countries, whose earnings were important for Pakistan’s economy. “Pakistan’s tense relations with the GCC countries will certainly affect the Pakistanis settled there.”

On the other hand, Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the PTI seemed to view the prime minister’s statement a little more positively.

Calling it a “clarification”, Mr Qureshi said the prime minister simply reiterated the resolution which had asked for “no boots on the ground” by repeating that Pakistan would protect Saudi Arabia’s “territorial integrity”.

But unlike Mr Sherpao, the PTI leader was of the opinion that the prime minister was compelled to make this clarification because his own “ministers and legislators have created ambivalence over the Yemeni crisis”.

While Mr Qureshi was not troubled by the prime minister’s assertion that President Hadi’s ousted government was the legitimate one, a third participant, who didn’t want to be identified, was not happy.

The politician pointed out that the opposition had rejected the government’s proposal to describe self-exiled President Hadi as the legitimate ruler of Yemen, and the Houthis, as rebels.

“The argument was that if you take sides prematurely, you cannot play the role of a peace-maker at the diplomatic level,” said the participant.

However, by now asking for President Hadi’s return to power as the solution to the Yemeni crisis, the prime minister was accepting the Saudi point of view, argued the participant.

Despite the varied political responses to the prime minister’s statement, it is certain that the issue is far from settled. As a government official predicted, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his ministers will continue to offer similar explanations and reassurances in the coming days.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2015

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