Islamabad: Pakistani members of parliament spoke out against getting involved in Yemen on Wednesday as they resumed a debate on a Saudi request to join a campaign against Al Houthi forces in Yemen.
“The Yemen war is not our war ... Our advice to the government is that the army should not go [to Yemen],” said opposition MP Shireen Mazari.
“As Muslims, we are duty bound to counter any threat to holy shrines but there is no such threat today.” Opposition Senator Tahir Hussain Mashadi said the victims were Yemenis.
“Now the aggressors are asking another sovereign state, Pakistan, to come to provide military aid to Saudi Arabia.”
Last month, a Saudi-led coalition began conducting air strikes in Yemen against Al Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia and Yemen share a border and Saudi Arabia says it is afraid that instability might spill over to its territory.
Saudi Arabia wants its staunch ally, Pakistan, to join the coalition, and has requested ships, aircraft and troops.
Pakistan’s parliament began debating the request on Monday and no legislator has spoken in support of sending troops for Saudi Arabia to fight in Yemen.
Although there are many groups in the complex Yemen conflict, Pakistani lawmakers fear it could develop into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and inflame already simmering sectarian tension at home.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he will defend Saudi Arabia’s “territorial integrity” but not spelt out what, if any, commitments he has made. On Tuesday, Sharif told lawmakers that Iran should be part of the debate and urged parliament to take its time in coming to a decision.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday for talks over the Yemen crisis, according to media reports.
Soon after his arrival, Zarif met Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, and shared details of the Iran-Turkey talks held in Tehran on Tuesday.
The Iranian foreign minister is scheduled to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday.
The Iranian foreign minister is leading a 22-member delegation, which also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour.
Besides the Yemen crisis, Zarif will also discuss the state of Iran’s ties with Pakistan, particularly cross-border terrorism allegedly by Pakistan-based groups in the Iranian province of Sistan-Balochistan.
The killing of eight Iranian guards on Monday along the border with Pakistan has renewed Iranian concerns.
“The visit will be in the framework of strengthening bilateral relations, surveying the regional and international developments, and boosting Iran-Pakistan border security,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham said.
