A diplomatic solution

It appears that the govt has grasped the implications of troops supporting Saudi Arabia, and not a moment too late

Something that appears to be dangerously close to an outbreak of common sense may be ‘in process’ in respect of the Yemeni imbroglio. A meeting between the civil and military arms of governance decided on March 30 that there was more mileage in the construction of a diplomatic initiative in response to a request for assistance from Saudi Arabian authorities — and there is. The security crisis in the Arabian peninsula is a pan-Arab problem, not only a problem of Yemen, and it is not in any sense a problem that Pakistan needs to be militarily engaged with, indeed quite the opposite. The meeting agreed that Pakistan find a way of playing a “constructive role” as an alternative to committing ground forces, a commitment not only fraught with peril and not just for the troops involved, but one which will stretch our own military resources still further.



Where Pakistan can play a positive role is diplomatically, and can act as both facilitator and ‘honest broker’ (not a role Pakistan has played previously) — to the potential mutual benefit of all players and combatants. The March 30 meeting decided to appeal to the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the international community to seek a political solution to the Yemen problem. This may be something of a faint hope as the Yemeni conflict has been both latent and actual for 15 years and has not proved susceptible to diplomatic resolution thus far.

There is more than one way to demonstrate support for our ally and benefactor, Saudi Arabia, and everything must be done to avoid the very real dangers associated with placing our own troops at Saudi Arabia’s disposal. It now appears that the government has grasped the implications of troops supporting Saudi Arabia, and not a moment too late. Pakistan may be able to turn a threat into an opportunity, and some diplomatic brokerage along established channels with states that we already enjoy good relations with is the right way to go. We wish such an initiative well.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st,  2015.

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