Pakistan, UAE FMs discuss Abu Dhabi terror attack

Sheikh Abdullah telephones Qureshi to offer condolences on death of Pakistani expat

ISLAMABAD:

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, a day after missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Abu Dhabi killed three people, including a Pakistani national.

A Foreign Office statement said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi received a telephone call from his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, to discuss the Abu Dhabi terrorist attack.

The Abu Dhabi police said that three people were killed and six wounded when three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah area near storage facilities of oil firm ADNOC. The state media said those killed were two Indians and a Pakistani.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthi militia has often carried out such attacks against Saudi Arabia but it was rare it targeted the UAE. The Gulf state has vowed to hit back at those who carried out the attacks.

Pakistan has for years been treading carefully on the Yemen conflict but it has unequivocally condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and now against the UAE. Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack on civilian areas by Houthi militia.

He offered condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured. The UAE foreign minister conveyed heartfelt condolences on the demise of a Pakistani national, due to the terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi on 17 January.

He also shared details of the tragic incident with Foreign Minister Qureshi. The foreign minister thanked the UAE government for extending all-out support in the early repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased Pakistani national and the treatment for the injured.

Expressing solidarity with the brotherly people and government of the UAE over the tragic incident, Qureshi underlined that such acts violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates.

He called for immediate cessation of such attacks, which continued to pose a grave threat to regional and international peace and security. “Pakistan and UAE have excellent fraternal ties. The two foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening and deepening bilateral relations further,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.