Yemen rendezvous: Most opposition parties against troop dispatch

Opposition lawmakers seek all-parties conference before final decision.

ISLAMABAD:

 Major opposition parties have expressed reservations over the government’s possible decision to commit troops for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen where Houthi rebels have raised the banner of rebellion against the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

On the request of the Saudi monarch, Pakistan has assured the oil-rich kingdom of all-out military support in its military campaign, according to the Saudi state-run news agency.

The mainstream political parties are, however, against the move. The leading opposition parties in parliament – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – have urged the government to bring the issue to parliament before taking any final decision.

PTI lawmaker Dr Arif Alvi believes Islamabad should not send troops to Saudi Arabia to fight against the Houthi rebels. “Send a delegation to Tehran and Riyadh for brokering peace,” he suggested while talking to The Express Tribune. “[Or] call a peace conference involving the United Nations to resolve this issue.”

The government could, however, send troops to guard the holy cities of Makkah and Madina, he added.

Imran Khan, the PTI chairman, has already made his position clear through social media. Commenting on the issue on Twitter, he said: “Pakistan should be playing a lead role in negotiating/helping in peace talks rather than becoming a participant in the war.”

He also questioned if Pakistan had not already “suffered enough by participating in others’ wars”, referring to the Afghan war against the Soviets and then the US-led war on terror. He also warned of the burning issue of sectarianism. “We already have a huge sectarian issue in Pakistan and our country has suffered enough in the last 10 years,” he tweeted.

PPP leader Khursheed Shah, who is also the opposition leader in the National Assembly, has also called on Nawaz Sharif to convene an all parties’ conference (APC) before going to war with the Yemeni rebels on Saudi Arabia’s advice. “We have asked the prime minister to take all political parties and parliament into confidence,” he said.

PPP’s Senator Farhatullah Babar also said that historically some Pakistani troops have been stationed in Saudi Arabia, but “it is not their mandate to fight in Yemen”. He, however, added: “We attach great importance to the security of Saudis, the protection of the holy mosques and the security of Gulf countries.”

Contrary to Shah and Babar’s statements, the PPP leadership has endorsed the Saudi-led military action in Yemen, even supporting all actions to protect the oil-rich kingdom and restore democracy to Sanaa. “The PPP stands by the Gulf Cooperation Council and Saudi Arabia and supports the military operation in order to… restore political process in Yemen,” said former interior minister Rehman Malik, while reading a “policy statement from Asif Ali Zardari” on Sunday.

Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are also against sending troops to Saudi Arabia, who they believe wanted to depute them against the Yemeni rebels.

“Pakistan, already fighting a sectarian war, cannot afford joining the anti-Yemen alliance. Our military is already fighting others’ wars. We should stay away from such proxies now,” observed ANP’s Senator Shahi Syed.

Jan Achakzai, spokesperson for JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, said his party was not in favour of sending troops to Saudi Arabia if Riyadh wanted to engage them in another country [Yemen]. He urged the government to call an APC for finding a solution to the ongoing war in Gulf states. “We support sending military to Saudi Arabia in case they need them for protection of holy places,” he added, explaining: “It is our religious obligation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2015.