Raheel Sharif to adopt same policy as parliament, Aziz tells Senate

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday former army chief Raheel Sharif, who is set to head a Saudi-led 39-nation military alliance, will implement the same policy as constituted by Pakistan’s parliament.

Aziz was addressing a session of the Senate, where Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani asked Aziz about the former army chief and his role in the alliance.

“The Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the Saudi alliance haven’t even been formed and the Army got ready,” remarked Rabbani, adding “Your former army chief even went to head the Saudi-led alliance.”

Following which, Sartaj Aziz responded that according to the news received, the alliance has not been allocated any operational units as of yet.

Aziz also told the House that the former army chief will play a consultative role and will not command any troops.

Gen (retd) Sharif is only helping draft the ToRs, he said, adding that the ex-army chief’s presence will not be counterproductive for the country’s foreign policy instead it will help maintain the balance. 

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The Saudi-led military alliance is likely to hold its first meeting in the coming months in Riyadh where defence ministers from member states will gather to agree on its structure and mission,...

The government of Pakistan had agreed to give a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to General (retd) Raheel Sharif to lead a 39-nation alliance of Muslim states led by Saudi Arabia.

The revelation was earlier made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in Geo News programme Jirga.

With a Joint Comand Centre headquartered in Riyadh, the alliance includes Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sudan, Malaysia, Egypt, Yemen and other Muslim countries.

The coalition conspicuously lacks the presence of Iran.