Pakistan parliament rejects Saudi call to join Yemen coalition

Islamabad: Pakistan’s parliament voted on Friday not to join the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, rejecting Riyadh’s call for support from outside of the region in its fight to halt the advance of Iranian-allied Al Houthi rebels.

A unanimous resolution passed by a special session of parliament backed the government’s commitment to protect Saudi Arabia’s territory, which has so far not been threatened by the conflict.

But it said Pakistan should play a mediating role and not get involved in fighting — turning down longstanding ally Riyadh’s request for troops, ships and warplanes.

“Parliament of Pakistan... underscores the need for continued efforts by the government of Pakistan to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” the resolution said.

It adopted a draft resolution calling on all sides to resolve their differences peacefully in a “deteriorating security and humanitarian situation” which has “implications for peace and stability of the region.”

“[Parliament] desires that Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis.”

It expressed “unequivocal support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and promising to “stand shoulder to shoulder with Saudi Arabia and its people” if Saudi territory were violated.

Pakistan’s government has yet to comment publicly on the draft but has said it would comply with parliament’s decision.

The motion came after five days of debate on the Yemen crisis, in which the majority of lawmakers urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not to send Pakistani forces to join the fight.

The coalition led by Riyadh has been hitting Al Houthi rebels in Yemen with air strikes in a bid to restore the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Saudi Arabia has vowed to bomb the rebels, who it says are backed by Tehran, into surrender to prevent them establishing a pro-Iran state on its doorstep.

Islamabad found itself in an awkward position on Yemen. It has deep military and religious ties to Saudi and has long benefited from the kingdom’s support.

But it has been reluctant to become ensnared in a conflict.

Moreover, the large Pakistani military is stretched, maintaining a heavy presence on the border with arch-rival India as well as fighting against Taliban militants in the northwest.

Instead, Pakistan has pushed diplomatic efforts in the past week, holding talks with Turkish and Iranian officials to try to forge a way ahead.

Friday’s resolution urged the government to begin work in the UN Security Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation bloc to bring about a ceasefire.

On Wednesday Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz pledged to work for a peaceful end to the fighting.

Zarif laid out a four-stage plan for talks, calling for an immediate ceasefire followed by humanitarian assistance, dialogue among Yemenis and the formation of an “all-inclusive government”.

Aziz appeared cool on Iran’s idea of an immediate ceasefire, saying it “would consolidate the existing ground position”, which currently has Al Houthis in control of large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.

Instead he called for “a more comprehensive resolution on facilitating an intra-Yemeni dialogue to create the possibility of some kind of negotiated solution”.

Saudi Arabia is concerned that the violence could spill over the border it shares with Yemen, and is also worried about the influence of Iran, which has denied Saudi allegations it has provided direct military support to Al Houthis.

Coalition air strikes hit Yemen for a sixteenth straight day. In Sana’a, they targeted weapons storage sites used by soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a powerful supporter of Al Houthis.

The air raids, which hit the Defence Ministry and other facilities, lasted hours, residents told Reuters. “The sky was lit up,” said Fadel Mohammad. “We heard big explosions.” Saleh is still influential in the military, despite giving up power in 2012 after mass protests against his rule, complicating efforts to stabilise the country.

Yemen’s 150,000 barrel-per-day Aden refinery has shut as the conflict worsened, industry sources said. The refinery earlier suspended its tender process for importing oil products, due to the crisis and several tankers headed to the country have been diverted away.

Aden residents said electricity and water had been cut in several districts, rubbish had been left uncollected and hospitals were unable to cope with the number of wounded.

“The humanitarian situation in Aden is catastrophic and disastrous, both in terms of the rising number of killed and injured as well as in declining capabilities of medics, along with shortages in water and electricity,” local health ministry official Al Khadr Lawsar said.

“We call on fighters to adhere to international law and respect the work of ambulances and medical staff in the field,” he added, citing the fatal shooting of two brothers working for the Red Crescent while evacuating wounded last week.

Aden residents reported heavy explosions from coalition air strikes and naval bombardment on Al Houthi positions which shook windows throughout the city.

An Indian ship captain working in Aden was killed in shelling on the city’s dockyard overnight, his company announced, and local media reported that Al Houthi and allied army units had fired mortars into the area.

An air strike hit a local government compound in the northern suburb of Dar Saad and fires in Aden’s outskirts sent plumes of smoke into the air.

Two planes carrying emergency medical aid landed in Sana’a on Friday, the first deliveries from international aid groups since the heavy fighting began.

They were brought in by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef, which had been trying for days to get aid flights into the country.