First things first

Some MNAs turned the joint session called to discuss Yemen situation into an opportunity to heckle returning PTI MNAs

The discussion in parliament on Yemen and the complex situation prevailing there as fighting continues is welcome. A joint session of the two houses is the right forum to discuss the matter, which is of critical importance in many ways to Pakistan. As was pointed out at the session, while Saudi Arabia is of course an important ally, Pakistan needs to first of all safeguard its own interests and ensure that these are guarded. While key Saudi requests, for troops, jet fighters and naval frigates were listed at the session by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, opposition leaders, including PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, are correct when they demand greater clarity on precisely what Pakistan’s position is and what it means when it states that it will defend Saudi sovereignty.



This is something we all need to know given the possible complexities that could arise from any involvement in the Yemen conflict. It is good to see parliament being used to ask these questions. It is the proper forum to take up a crucial national issue with all parties involved in this debate. What is less fortunate is the fact that the session was turned, by some members, into an opportunity to heckle returning PTI MNAs. Even Khawaja Asif, who should have bigger issues on his mind, was apparently unable to restrain himself.

The focus of this joint sitting is Yemen. There must be no childish efforts to divert attention from this matter. Everything else is by comparison of little consequence, and it is not becoming of senior parliamentarians to resort to the name-calling and petty behaviour they indulged in. This is, of course, all the more true given that working out a strategy on Yemen is the key reason for the joint sitting. The effort should then be to evolve a national consensus on this important issue rather than resorting to actions that serve no useful purpose and have no place beyond the school playground. This is something all the major parties need to reflect on earnestly as we contemplate a major international crisis that threatens to draw us in. We must find a way to avoid this.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th,  2015.

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