Tough equation

The ongoing conflict in Yemen has created a rather grim set of difficulties for Pakistan — as the country weighs its close relations with Saudi Arabia against what would be some immensely negative repercussions of getting involved in the conflict. The fact that during the intense parliamentary debate on the issue during the joint sitting of the upper house and lower house, hardly any parliamentarian spoke in favour of Pakistani involvement in Yemen is surely significant. Such unanimous opinion cannot be and must not be ignored.

It was also good to see the prime minister present at this crucial session to address the issue. But the reluctance of the government to put before people the details of requests made by Saudi Arabia is disconcerting. The prime minister stated that it was not possible to say more on this in public or go beyond details Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had provided. He did, however, hint at the possibility of a ‘closed door’ session for parliamentarians. Beyond this, the prime minister also focused on the question of Iran, and the need to involve it in the process of coming up with a solution to the crisis at hand. Indeed, Iran itself is pressing for a dialogue towards peace, and this initiative must be encouraged. This is the only feasible solution, with the possibilities of a ceasefire, followed by fresh elections put forward at a joint press conference by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This is the line of action Pakistan needs to work towards, too. Pressure must be built to end the conflict. With Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif currently visiting Pakistan, there will be an excellent opportunity for the two neighbours to discuss the options and work together towards putting an end to the fighting. This, after all, is where the interest of all parties lies, and Pakistan would be performing an extremely useful service by joining in with all the players, working towards peace and attempting to build the kind of momentum required to bring this about. There are really no other options but to work towards ending a conflict that has torn the world apart.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2015.

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