Middle East conflict: Zardari advises govt to convene Islamic summit

Says PPP will send delegations to Muslim countries to find a peaceful solution

KARACHI:

Co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari has called upon the government to convene an Islamic summit to discuss the fragile situation in Yemen and other parts of the Middle East. He also said his party has decided to send delegations to Muslim countries to find a peaceful solution.

“The PPP and its leadership are concerned about Saudi Arabia and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” the former president told a press conference at Bilawal House on Thursday. “We want to reach a solution through dialogue,” he stressed.

Referring to the ongoing Houthis’ rebellion in Yemen and the Saudi-led action against them, Zardari suggested the government to call an all parties conference (APC) and give an in-camera briefing. He said the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of PPP has decided to send delegations to Muslim countries and try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

When he was the president, Zardari recalled, he had discussed regional issues with the leadership of Iran and other countries and clearly saw a storm coming in the future, adding, “We need to fight this storm with the tools of friendship and brotherhood. The tensions between the Muslim countries should be alleviated.”

He maintained that during the United Nations session, his government had insisted that the Syria question be solved through dialogue and “we abstained in the voting” on Bashar al Asad’s regime.

The situation in Yemen and the region is alarming from the humanitarian point of view, the PPP co-chairperson said, adding that the boundaries of the countries are less important than the lives of people. Zardari insisted that borders lose their meanings when it comes to human misery, hunger and death.

He added, “Pakistan cannot leave the issue unattended as three million Pakistanis work in the gulf countries. We will have to indulge in the matter.”

Bukhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Sherry Rehman, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Ahmed Mukhtar and other leaders were also present in the meeting. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2015.