Saudi Arabia seeks jets, ships, troops from Pakistan: Asif

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Parliament on Monday that Saudi Arabia has sought fighter jets, ground troops and navy vessels to join coalition forces in their operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Briefing the joint-session of Parliament on the situation in Yemen, Asif informed the house on progress of evacuation of Pakistani nationals and Saudi Arabia’s request for military assistance from Pakistan.

He said the situation in Yemen had been deteriorating the last few weeks and raised several implications for Pakistan and the whole region.

Asif added that given the gravity of the situation and democratic traditions, PM Nawaz decided that the subject merits in-depth reflection in Parliament and this will help the government to reach decisions in national interests which are based on consensus.

The government’s priority was to ensure the safety of Pakistanis and PM Nawaz monitored the evacuation personally. A crisis cell was formed at the Ministry to Foreign Affairs for coordination of evacuation. “We rose to the expectations’ of our nation and successfully evacuated our nationals.”

Asif thanked the support provided by the government of Saudi Arabia for assistance in evacuation. He thanked China which also providing assistance.

-'Unflinching commitment to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty'-

The minister said the government’s policy had been consistent that Pakistan would not let Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty be threatened. Asif said that the prime minister had communicated this several times to the Saudi leadership.

“The prime minister emphasised that Pakistan attaches great importance to Saudi Arabia,” Asif said.

He said that Saudi Arabia had asked Pakistan for ground troops, fighter jets and navy ships.

“We reiterated our unflinching and unwavering commitment to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Any violation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke strong response from Pakistan,” he said.

"This was our stance from the beginning and this is what we said on our delegation’s visit to Riyadh.”

The defence minister said that PM Sharif had also visited Turkey last week and that both countries held similar stances on the issue.

He said that both countries agreed that continued crisis in Yemen could push the region into turmoil. Pakistan and Turkey consider Saudi Arabia as a ‘brother’ and vowed to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Pakistan and Turkey agreed that it is in our interest to keep region free from turmoil,” he said.

He said that Pakistan had taken an initiative to restore peace in the region.

In this regard, the Turkish president would visit Iran, while the Iranian foreign minister would visit Pakistan on April 8, he said.

At the end of his briefing, he reiterated that any decision by Pakistan would be taken with the consent on Parliament.

“Decisions will be according to the wishes of people of Pakistan. The government will greatly appreciate guidance from elected representatives of Pakistan,” Khawaja Asif said.

The minister also spoke of sacrifices rendered by our soldiers in the ongoing war on terrorism. Asif added that the Pakistan army was the only army which was battling terrorism head on.